Always and Forever
by naley1285
Summary: He left her at the altar one year ago. Now he's back looking for forgiveness and a way back into her heart. Will she be able to or will they never find their way back together again? Naley
1. Chapter 1

Always and Forever

By Naley1285

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill.**

**Summary: He left her at the altar one year ago. Now he's back looking for forgiveness and a way back into her heart. Will she be able to or will they never find their way back together again?**

* * *

**January 9, 2007**

Haley looked at herself in the mirror. The wedding dress Brooke made her was perfect. Being herself, she mentally checked everything on her list. "Veil, check. Flowers, check. Shoes...Damn it! Where are my shoes? Peyton!"

"Whoa, where's the fire? What's up? Wow you look gorgeous." Peyton said. "So Bridezilla. What's wrong now?"

"I can't find my shoes. I knew something was gonna go wrong today."

"Because you can't find your shoes? What are you talking about? Everything's gonna be perfect Hales. Now sit down, take a deep breath and I'll find your shoes. God if you're this bad, I wouldn't want to be Brooke's bridesmaid when her turn comes." After a few minutes she exclaimed, "Hah! Found them! See, nothing's gonna go wrong today. Now put on your shoes and zip it."

"Sorry, Peyt. It's just nerves. And you're doing a great job. Thanks." Haley hugged her friend. "I wonder how Nate's doing?"

* * *

In the other room, Lucas looked at his half-brother with a mixture of disbelief and anger. "What do you mean you can't get married today?"

Nathan paced the room and ran his fingers through his raven blue hair. "I'm sorry Luke, I can't. And it's not because I don't love her. You know I do. I just can't."

"But why? What do I tell her? You know this is gonna break her!" Lucas yelled.

"I know. Tell her I'm sorry…"

* * *

**January 8, 2008**

Haley stared out of the window. Her mind was a million miles away. She still thought of him every single day since he left. Leaving her with no explanation and a broken heart. He was her first love. Her only love. He told her he was going to love her always. Always and forever. She could already feel tears welling in her eyes. She laughed bitterly and thought to herself. "God! I can't keep doing this."

"Hey Hales, you alright?" Lucas's question brought her out of her reverie. She smiled at her best friend. "Yeah I'm fine. What were you saying?" She asked.

He looked at her with his piercing green eyes. He knew her long enough to know what was on her mind. "I said do you want to catch a movie tonight?"

"Ermm not tonight Luke. I've got things to do. Rain check?" she answered.

"What do you have to do tonight except mope? Come on Hales. Don't do this to yourself. Not anymore." Pleaded Luke.

"How? Just tell me how. I loved him Luke. I still do. And he left me. On what was supposed to be our happiest day. And all he could say was sorry? Telling me he didn't love me anymore was better than just telling me he was sorry." She could feel a sob threatening to escape.

Lucas joined her on the bed and put his arm around her. He hated to see her like this. "I know you're still hurting Hales. But I know him. I'm sure he's got a good reason for doing what he did. He loved you. You know he did."

"Did he? Whose side are you on Luke? He left me and I've to put on a brave face on what's supposed to be the eve of our first anniversary?" She said while wiping the tears from her face. "Look, I'm sorry. I know he's your brother and it's not your fault." She attempted to smile. "Why don't you go with Brooke? I'll be fine."

"You sure? I could stay with you if you want. I'm sure Brooke's okay with it." He asked, concern written all over his face.

"I'm fine. Now get out of my room before I throw your sorry ass out." She threatened. Lucas put up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay I'm going. Geez, where's my best friend and what have you done with her?" He hugged her before getting his jacket. "It's gonna be okay Hales. You're gonna be okay."

"Thanks Luke. You know what? Maybe I'll get Peyton to come over for some girl time. God knows I need that now. And she needs to stop making out with Jake every second she's alone with him or her mouth's gonna fall off her face. And the same applies to you and Brooke." She rolled her eyes playfully.

Lucas laughed along. "That's my girl. Okay I gotta go. I'll catch you later okay?" He kissed her forehead before letting himself out.

Haley sighed. Finally she had some lone time to gather her thoughts. Lucas's words kept ringing in her ears. _"I'm sure he's got a good reason for doing what he did."_ He said it with such conviction that Haley wanted to believe him. The problem was she couldn't.

* * *

Nathan sighed and looked at his mom, Deb. "Yeah mom, I'll probably stay a couple of weeks this time. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too honey. Are you hungry? Do you need anything to eat? I can make make something for you if you want." She offered her son.

"Ermm mom, I've only been gone a year. I still remember your culinary skills, or the lack of it." He grinned. "I'm fine. I had something to eat on my way here. I'm gonna pop down to Luke's if it's okay with you."

She smiled at her only son. "Sure I'll see you when you come back. We've got a lot of catching up to do." She sat down on the couch. "Nathan, she still misses you, you know."

Nathan's ears perked up at her words. "How, how do you know? Did she tell you?"

"She still comes over from time to time for a chat. But she didn't have to tell me that she misses you. It's practically stamped on her forehead."

"I messed up mom and I don't know what to do. I just want her back." She sighed. "Just give her time Nathan. Don't rush it. What you two had was something special. You'll get her back." It was just like when he was a little boy. His mom could always see through him, just like she was doing now. She knew his reason for coming back to Tree Hill. She knew his reason for leaving a year ago.

"Thanks mom. I'm just gonna unpack before I head off to Luke's. Love you mom." He said hugging Deb tightly before she left him with his thoughts. One year ago, he made the most difficult decision in his life and not a day went by that he didn't regret it. But he had no choice. And now he'd do anything to win back her trust.

_Flashback_

_They were at Karen's Cafe celebrating their first year together. He knew he should've brought her somewhere fancy but he also knew that fancy things didn't really impress Haley much. That was what he loved about her. _

_Karen had agreed to close the cafe for him. Everything was perfect. There were candles and rose petals everywhere. As he looked at the woman he loved he was suddenly nervous. He had planning this over and over in his head and nothing even came close to what he was feeling now. "So are you enjoying yourself?"_

_"Hell yeah. Mac and cheese? You really know how to please a girl." Her laugh was cut short when she noticed he was quiet. "Hey are you alright?"_

_"Yeah I'm fine." He reached for her hand. "Haley, I love you so much. This past year has been incredible and it's all because of you." He knew he was rambling. "I guess what I wanted to say is, will you marry me?"_

_The silence that engulfed was so intense you could hear a pin drop. "Hales, say something. Please."_

_She looked at him with tears brimming in her eyes. "Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes."_

_End of flashback._

"Well, here goes nothing." Nathan said to himself getting in his car. His mind was still on Haley as he drove past Lucas's house. And for some reason he ended up at the last place he planned on going tonight.

* * *

Haley was getting ready when she heard the knock on her door. "Great, the one time Peyton's early." She thought to herself. "Hang on, I'm coming."

The moment she opened her door, she felt like she had been punched in the gut. "Wha…what are you doing here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow thanks for the reviews guys. This is my first time writing and your kind words really got me going. Here's the second chapter. Lemme know what you guys think ;) It might take a while for me to put up Chapter 3 coz I've got exams coming up. But I'll try to do it as soon as possible. **

* * *

Chapter 2

She stood at her door, trying to register the fact that the person who broke her heart was in front of her. After all this time he could still take her breath away. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi Hales. I..."

She closed her eyes at the sound of him calling her name and took a deep breath. "Please leave."

"Hales, just listen to me." Nathan pleaded.

"I can't...not now. Please Nathan. Please leave." She begged as she felt tears threatening to fall. She didn't want him to see her cry. He stood rooted at her doorstep.

"Wow it wasn't so hard for you to do the last time. Fine, if you don't want to leave, I'll leave."

"No, don't. I'll go. I just...I just wanted to see you." He looked at the beautiful woman standing before him and his heart ached. Aching to hold her. He had to resist the urge to take her in his arms and never let ago. He saw the door closing and heard the sobbing from the other side. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

* * *

Haley closed the door quietly and fell into a heap on the floor sobbing. "This can't be happening." She reached for the phone and dialed. "Luke" She sobbed.

"Hey Hales. What's wrong? Are you alright?" He panicked at the thought of something terrible happening to his best friend.

"He's back Luke. He's back." She managed to get the words out.

"Who?"

"Nathan." Just saying his name hurt her like a thousand knives stabbing her heart.

"What?? Hang on. I'll be there in 10 minutes." He hung up and turned to Brooke.

"What's wrong Luke? Is Haley okay?" She asked concerned.

"Nathan's back. I gotta go." He started reaching for his jacket.

Brooke put her hand on his arm and said, "I'll go with you." Haley was her best friend too. At the sound of Nathan's name she felt anger bubbling up. "What the hell are you trying to do to her Nate?" She said to herself as she ran to Lucas's car.

* * *

Peyton knocked on Haley's door only to find Lucas opening it. "Hey I thought it's supposed to be girl time tonight. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be mauling Brooke somewhere?" Her jabber stopped as soon as she saw Lucas's face. "What's going on?" She asked slowly.

"Nathan came by justnow."

"What??" Peyton yelled in disbelief. "How is she?"

"What do you think? She's a mess. Come on, she's in the kitchen with Brooke."

Peyton followed Lucas into the kitchen and immediately gathered Haley into her arms. "Hey Tutorgirl. Lucas just told me. Are you okay?"

Haley managed a watery smile. "I've been better. Sorry you guys. I shouldn't have bothered you."

Brooke stood up. "What are you talking about? I'd have kicked his balls if you had called me sooner. Soooo...what did he say?"

"He didn't say anything much. Well I didn't exactly gave him a chance to say anything. I'm really sorry you guys. Look, I'm fine. I don't need a babysitter. Brooke, you and Luke can still catch that movie and Peyton..."

"...is not going anywhere. I promised you girl time didn't I?" Peyton grinned. "By the way if I leave, I would only go to Deb's house, find that scumbag and beat the crap out of him."

Lucas kept quiet as he listened to the girls. His brother's back. Which could only mean one thing. He knew he had to see Nathan to make sure. On one hand he felt relieved, but on the other hand, he was not looking forward to the storm that was brewing.

"Hey Luke, I'm the one in a mess and you're a million miles away." Haley's voice broke his trail of thoughts.

"Sorry, yeah. Hales are you sure you're okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about? He came back and I told him to leave. Exactly how I pictured it to be. Look you guys, I'm really glad you came. I know you mean well but I really am fine. I just need some time to process this. "

"Are you sure? I can stay with you if you want?" Brooke asked, reluctant to leave her in this condition.

"I'm fine. Promise." She assured them.

Lucas was the first to reach for his jacket. "Okay if you're sure. Call me if you need anything okay?" He pulled her into a tight hug. As much as he wanted to stay with Haley tonight, he had somewhere else to go. His eagerness to leave didn't escape Brooke but she kept quiet.

"Okay Tutorgirl. I'll check up on you tomorrow alright. Come on P. Sawyer." Peyton reluctantly got up from her chair and hugged her friend. "You know who to call if you need anything." Haley nodded and walked them to the door.

Outside the house Lucas turned to Brooke and said, "Hey would you mind riding with Peyton. I've got something I gotta do."

Brooke eyed her curiously. "What do you have to do? What's up Luke? You're acting kinda weird." When he didn't answer her, she knew better than to press. He'd tell her in his own time. "Fine I'll ride with Peyton coz I know you'll tell me soon enough."

"You're amazing you know that?" He kissed her. "I'll see you tomorrow ok? Love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled showing her dimples."Hey Peyton! Wait up!"

Haley heard her friends leaving and breathed a sigh of relief. She loved her friends for caring and knew that she could always count on them for anything. But she needed time to think. Seeing Nathan brought back memories and thinking about them brought tears back to her eyes. She walked to her bed and sat down, reaching for drawer by her bed and found what she was looking for. She opened the small black box and the tears started to fall. Her engagement ring. She still kept it after all this time. He had left her alone and confused one year ago and now that he was back, she was even more confused. She slipped the box under her pillow and laid down, tears still streaming down her face. She closed her eyes hoping that sleep would come.

* * *

Lucas drove to the one place where he knew where his brother would be. And sure enough, there he was shooting hoops at the River Court. Knowing Nathan this was the first place he would go if he needed to think.

"Hey how about a one-on-one?" He walked to his brother and hugged him. "Wow you couldn't have picked a better time to see her huh?"

"Hey Luke. So I assume you know? Great if you know, then my bet is Peyton and Brooke know too. I'm surprised they're not here with you taking turns beating the crap out of me."

"Oh believe me that thought did cross their minds." Lucas grinned as he joined his brother on the bench. "So you're back. For good?"

Nathan kept quiet and sighed. After a few seconds he said, "I don't know Luke. I don't even know why I'm here in the first place."

Lucas shook her head. "Sure you do. You're here to get Haley back. Now that you're here I assume everything's okay?" Lucas asked with raised eyebrows.

Nathan looked at him and said, "Yeah everything's okay."

Lucas exhaled with relief. "That's great man. But are you okay?"

"I'm still hurting Luke. It's just a different kind of pain. I shouldn't have left her Luke. I should've told her the truth."

"Hey it's a bit too late to beat yourself up like this. You did what you had to do. I'm sure if you explain it all to her she'd understand."

Nathan stood up. "Would she? You should've seen her Luke. She looked so broken. I hurt her. Nothing I can say is gonna take the hurt away."

"Nate, do you know why she's still angry? Why she's still hurting after all this time. Why she hasn't gone on a date since you left? She still loves you Nate. Just hold on to that." Lucas's words did give him some relief. She hadn't gone on a date since he left.

"I just want her back..."

"And you will get her back. It just takes some time. Come on, I'll even help you. What do you want me to do? Just name it."

A thought crossed Nathan's mind. "Hey do you think you can plan it so that Hales and I could be in the same place?"

"Yeah sure what are you thinking? Dinner? Hang on, Peyton's engagement party is on Friday. Maybe you can come."

"Wait, Peyton's getting married? How long have I been gone man?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

Lucas grinned. "Long enough. Trust me. By the way if you're gonna see the gang again I'd better fill Brooke and Peyton in, if that's alright with you. I wouldn't want to turn Peyton's party into a bloodbath."

"Yeah sure but Haley must not know. I need to tell her myself."

Lucas nodded in agreement. "Sure. So how about that one-on-one?"

Nathan smiled for the first time. "Couldn't wait for me to beat you huh?" He grinned. "Game on!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys. The reviews have been awesome! I really didn't expect to get any since this is my first fanfic but u guys wowed me. ;) I'm not really sure about this chapter though so why don't you guys let me know what you think. Enjoy this chapter. Cheers!**

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Chapter 3

Haley looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. She had to admit she liked what she saw. The white strapless chiffon dress brought out the colour of her eyes and accentuated her figure perfectly but to be honest the dress Brooke picked out for her was a bit too revealing for her liking. Thinking about Brooke made her wonder about her friend. She seemed like she was on a mission to make her look especially good tonight, helping her with the dress, shoes and even her make-up and wouldn't leave her alone until she agreed to try on whatever her friend suggested. She sighed again. It's been three days since Nathan appeared at her doorstep and he hadn't tried to see her since. She had been jittery since, afraid that he might show up again and tonight she could finally calm herself since she knew there was no way in hell Nathan would be at Peyton's party.

"Oh my God you look absolutely stunning. Okay that's it. That's what you're wearing to Peyton's party tonight. This is gonna be awesome!" Brooke clapped hand excitedly as she admired her handiwork. "Okay for shoes, how about these black t-strap sandals? Wow, I am really good at this!"

"Brooke, you really don't have to do this. I can pick out my own clothes you know. And what's up with the evening dress? I thought it's gonna be a party. This looks more like a fancy dinner thing."

"First of all, I'm better at picking out dresses and you know it Tutorgirl. And secondly, Peyton made some changes. Since this is her engagement party, she wanted a romantic theme instead of a drunken party which really is a shame. I was looking forward to some drunken make out session with Luke."

"Ewwww Brooke. I didn't need to know that!"

"Oh zip it Tutorgirl, we've gotta be at Tric in 15 minutes or Peyton's gonna kill us."

"Okay okay. Come on get my keys and I'll drive this time." Haley said as she grabbed her purse.

Five minutes later they were on their way to Tric, a club partly owned by Peyton and Karen, Lucas's mom. Since Haley was driving, it gave Brooke some time to think about the night before.

_Flashback_

_Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Jake were at Karen's cafe discussing the engagement party when Nathan walked in. Brooke immediately stood up and with gritted teeth said, "What the hell are you doing here Nate? How dare you show your face here!"_

_Lucas grabbed her arm to restrain her. "It's okay Brooke. I asked him to come."_

_"What!" It was Peyton's turn to yell. "What for Luke? So we can take turn beating him up? Okay let me go first." She walked over to Nathan and slapped him right across his face._

_"Peyton!" Lucas exclaimed._

_Nathan held up his hands and said, "It's okay Luke. I deserved it. Brooke, before I let you have a go, you guys need to hear why I left. Please."_

_When nobody answered, Nathan tentatively grabbed a chair and sat down. He took a deep breath and said, "I know you guys are mad at me for what I did and I don't blame you. I didn't mean to leave Haley. It's just that..." He looked at Lucas for reassurance._

_"It's okay Nate. Tell them."_

_"You knew!" Peyton yelled. "What the hell is going on here?!"_

_"Peyton baby. You know I love you. But could you please be quiet and let the man speak?" Jake finally spoke._

_"Thanks Jake." Nathan took a deep breath and started, "A few weeks before the wedding..."_

_An hour later, the silence was broken by Brooke walking up to Nathan and hugged him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Nate."_

_"Yeah, So now you know why I left."_

_It was Peyton's turn to speak. "Wow, I may not agree with the choices you made Nate, but I think I can understand it. I'm so sorry for slapping you. That's gotta hurt."_

_"Yeah well Jake. You really gotta watch your back with this girl." He smiled an said slowly. "All I want is to win back her trust. So do you guys think you can help me and Haley get back together? Or at least help me talk to her. I mean it's a long shot but I have to try."After a short pause he asked, "How is she anyway?"_

_"Well she's trying to make sense of everything." Brooke said while tracing a circle with the chocolate sauce on her place. She looked up at Nathan and gently said, "She still loves you, you know. She'll come around. You know how stubborn she is Nate but she will."_

_"I hope so. So now that you know I'll leave you guys alone. I know it's a lot to process so I'll see you at the party tomorrow." Nathan started to get up and leave_.

_"Come on man, get your ass back in the chair. Look we haven't seen you in a year and you dropped this bombshell on our heads and now you wanna leave? No way in hell! Come on we've got a lot of catching up to do." Jake said while grabbing Nathan's arm. Nathan grinned. _

_End of flashback._

"We're here!" Haley exclaimed shutting her car door. "Brooke? What is it with you guys? I feel like I'm in Zombieland."

"Sorry I was just...It's nothing. Come on, let's go and have fun. Oooooh let's try get Jake drunk. Now that would be fun!" Brooke said gleefully and grabbed Haley's hand.

* * *

Haley and Brooke immediately spotted Peyton and Jake. "Hey P. Sawyer. Congratulations! Wow this place is beautiful. You've really outdone yourself this time. And you look amazing." Haley exclaimed.

"You don't look so bad yourself Tutorgirl. Come on dinner's gonna start." Peyton said and dragged Haley and Brooke to a table already occupied by Lucas and Jake. The girls chattering was suddenly interrupted by a voice that made Haley froze in her seat. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Nathan.

"Mind if I sit here. Congratulations Peyton. Hey guys." They nodded, smiling uncomfortably. "Hi Haley." He squirmed in his seat when she didn't answer. "Wow this is gonna be harder than I thought." He said to himself. He breathed a sigh of relief when the waiters brought their food to the table.

As the rest of the group chattered, Haley and Nathan couldn't escape the discomfort hanging in the air. A few times their fingers grazed, sending electric shocks to their bodies. After all this time, they still had that effect on each other. The tension between them was so intense that Haley stood up, placing her napkin on her table. "I erm... I have to go the bathroom." Nathan looked into her eyes and saw the hurt and sadness, making his heart constrict.

"I'll go with you." Peyton offered. They walked in silence. Once in the bathroom, Haley turned to Peyton.

"Why...why is he here?"

"Hales, I'm so sorry. I invited him. He's my friend Hales. I'm sorry. I should have checked with you first."

"Wait, now he's your friend? A few days ago you were ready to rip his head off!" When Peyton didn't answer, she continued, "I'm sorry Peyton. I know it's your engagement party. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just that I don't think I can handle this. It's too hard." She said while wiping away a lone tear.

"I know honey. But you know you have to face him sooner or later. Tree Hill is not a big town you know." She put a comforting hand on Haley's shoulder. "Now come on. We're supposed to have fun." Peyton said, relieved when Haley nodded.

Once they were outside the music was already playing, inviting the guests to the dance floor. Lucas immediately grabbed Haley's hand and said, "Hey buddy. You up for a dance with your best friend?" He said to Haley and giving Peyton a wink.

"Sure." They danced to Anna Nalick's "Shine". Haley hated to admit it but she was starting to have fun. As long as she didn't think about Nathan. The song then turned to Gavin Degraw's "More Than Anyone."

_I'm gonna love you more than anyone  
I'm gonna hold you closer than before  
And when I kiss your soul, your body be free  
I'll be free for you anytime  
I'm gonna love you more than anyone_

Suddenly there was a tap on Lucas's shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" Nathan's voice snapped Haley out of her reverie. Haley stood rooted to the ground as Lucas let go of her and said smiling, "Sure." She looked up at Nathan as he slowly took her hands and place them around his neck and let his hands fall to her small waist. Her smell was so intoxicating and he held her tight, never wanting to let go. He felt Haley reluctantly sway to the music. "You look beautiful tonight Hales." He breathed into her ear. She really did look beautiful. Haley. His Haley.

"Thank you." Haley quietly replied.

"I've missed you so much." The moment he said it he knew it was a mistake. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She had been bracing herself to face him and now that she was in his arms and hearing those words, all the hurt and sadness came crashing in like waves. She wiped a single tear that ran freely down her cheek. She had to get away from him. She wouldn't let him see her cry. She needed to breathe. She disentangled herself from him and she said to him, her voice breaking, "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Haley wait." He followed her outside into the cool night. She took a deep breath and turned to face him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"What are you doing here Nathan? You left me on our wedding day and now you think you can just show up and tell me that you miss me? Why did you come back? Just to see if you can hurt me again? Well congratulations, it worked."

"Hales..."

"No, don't. The day you left me you broke my heart. And I thought I've picked up all the pieces and put them back together. And now you've come back and..." She continued sobbing uncontrollably. "I tried to forget you. I tried to hate you." Nathan winced at her words and said nothing. He needed to hear everything she had to say. "Nothing worked Nathan. I gave you my heart. And I never got it back."

Seeing her like this nearly killed him. He slowly gathered her into his arms and let her cry. "Shhh...I'm sorry Hales. I'm so sorry." He said as his tears started to fall.

"Hey you guys alright?" Lucas's voice made Haley's head snap. She looked at Nathan and pulled away.

"I have to go. Tell Peyton I'm sorry." And Nathan could only stare as Haley walked away from him. He turned to Lucas and shook his head dejectedly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. I know I said it would be a while before I can update but your reviews have made it impossible for me not to write. Sorry for teasing you guys about Nathan's secret. I was torn between revealing what it is in this chapter or keep you guys guessing. So read on to find out and keep the reviews coming ;)  
**

* * *

Chapter 4

Nathan laid on his bed with his eyes closed, trying to erase the memory of tonight but the look on Haley's face still haunted him. He jumped at the sound of someone knocking on his door and reluctantly opened his eyes to see Lucas hovering over him. "Damn I should've locked the door. Should've known it was you." He closed his eyes again hoping to ignore his brother.

Lucas sighed. "So do you wanna talk about it?"

"Nope not really. And you're still here? I thought me ignoring you is a clear signal for you to leave me alone."

"Come on Nate. What happened?"

"What did you think happened? I tried to talk to her and she..." Nathan sighed, remembering Haley's face, wet with tears. "I hurt her too much Luke. Maybe me coming home was a bad idea. Maybe I should just go back to New York."

"You know that's crazy talk man. Look, what did you expect her reaction to be like? You disappeared for a year and suddenly turned up on her doorstep and expect her to take you back? Smooth, little brother, smooth." Lucas joked hoping to lighten the mood.

Nathan got up giving his brother a dirty look and said, "God I'm such a dumbass!"

"Well I'm not gonna disagree with you on that one." Another voice chimed in. "Hey dumbass, Peyton and I was thinking of going over to Karen's Cafe tomorrow morning. Wanna come?" When Nathan didn't answer Brooke continued slowly, "Haley might even join us since she doesn't have to go to school tomorrow."

"You guys still have that Saturday morning ritual going huh? I'll think about it since I'm her least favourite person in the world right now." He looked at Brooke and continued, "So she took up Turner's offer? That's great. I always thought she'd be great at teaching." Nathan smiled remembering Haley tutoring him wearing her famous poncho.

"Yeah she did." Lucas continued. "It was either that of Brooke's offer to work with her at Clothes Over Bro's. Seems like an obvious choice to me." He grinned at his girlfriend and was quickly rewarded with a smack on his arm.

"Oh my God this night is getting worse by the minute." Nathan groaned while covering his face with his hands. "You know I think I'm gonna go for a walk. And no Luke, you're not invited."

"Wow does he seem more grouchy than before? I think all the chemicals have gone to your head Nate." As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. Brooke's face was contrite when she saw the look on Nathan's face. "Oh God Nate I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"Yeah I know. Alright, I'm gonna go. You guys better be gone when I get back." He warned Lucas and Brooke before leaving.

* * *

River Court. The first place he would go to when he needs to think. But this time all he could think about is Haley. Everything in Tree Hill reminded him of her. Lucas was right. He shouldn't have sprang on Haley like that. But there was no other way. He knew he had to tell her. He wasn't sure if she would forgive him but she had the right to know. He closed his eyes and images of them dancing, her body close to him flashed before his eyes. It felt so right holding her like that. He could still smell traces of her scent on him.

"So did the walk work?" A voice startled him.

"Oh my God Lucas will you stop bothering me? Don't you have a girlfriend to maul? Geez can't a guy get some peace around here?"

"Sorry little brother. Can't do that. Look I'm just worried about you man. I've never seen you this messed up before. Anyway, we haven't really had a chance to talk since you came back. I'm glad you're back Nate."

"Yeah...sorry about that. I just keep thinking what would have happened if I hadn't left? What would that do to Haley?"

"Well there's really no point thinking about that. What's done is done. The question is what are you gonna do now? You know you have to tell her Nate." Lucas said with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah I know. I just need to figure out how. I was thinking maybe it's not such a good idea to spring another surprise on her right now. You know how well she reacted to me showing up. Anyway, enough about me. What's been going on with you guys since I left?" Nathan asked, needing to get Haley out of his mind if only for tonight although he knew that was almost impossible.

"Well I took up the coaching job after Whitey retired. Brooke has her boutique. Peyton and Jake have their record label and Haley, well you know...So are you here to stay? Coz if you are I've got a proposition for you."

"You're not suggesting anything kinky are you? Coz I'm so out of here if you are." Nathan joked.

"You're sick Nate. No! I was thinking maybe you can help me out with the Ravens. I've got Skills helping me but we could use you in the team with us. Come on, what do you say? Anyway it's a great way for you to be closer to Haley."

The offer was tempting. It had been five years since he last played with the Ravens back in high school. He hasn't really missed basketball since he graduated but back then he's got Haley. They had been dating since their senior year and he hadn't looked at another woman since. Haley changed him. Before she came into his life, he was known as the high school hottie, a different girl on his arm every week. That all changed when he met her. He knew when she first saw her walking by his locker that she was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And since he couldn't see Haley now without making her run away in the opposite direction, this could actually work in his favour.

"Sounds great. But I might end up taking over you as head coach." He grinned.

"No chance in hell." Lucas retorted. The two brothers laughed while enjoying each other's company, one hoping he could take away the pain of the other.

* * *

Haley groaned inwardly as she thought of breakfast at Karen's. She was pretty sure her Brooke and Peyton were going to bombard her with questions. She had no doubt in her mind that last night was a set up to make her and Nathan talk. "That worked out really well." She thought bitterly. Thinking of Nathan made her groan again. She missed being held by Nathan. She missed talking to him. She missed all of him. She picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey Peyton, I'm so sorry I don't think I'm up for breakfast this morning. Is it alright if you just go with Brooke? I'll make it up to you guys. Promise" She had expected Peyton to scream in her ears but surprisingly her friend relented. "Yeah I'm totally fine. Don't worry about me. I just need to finish up some homework. I'll catch you guys later." She said before hanging up. "Well that was pretty easy."

She started to make some coffee when she heard the doorbell ring. She groaned as she dragged herself to the door. "Luke if it's you it's too early to bug me!" She yelled and opened the door. "Oh..."

"Hey Haley. Could I come in? Please."

Haley reluctantly nodded as she let Nathan in. "Erm...I was just making coffee. Do you want some?" She surprised herself by asking.

"Yeah that would be great. Thanks." He said as he looked at her with his piercing eyes, making Haley blush. He loved that he still had that effect on her. "Haley, about last night..."

"Nathan can we not talk about that? At least not yet." Haley pleaded.

"Ok sure." He answered slowly. "So do you want me to whip up breakfast?" He tried to joke and was relieved to see a small smile on Haley's face.

"You? Making breakfast? The last time you made breakfast you nearly burned the house down." Nathan laughed. "I think I'll pass. How about I make your favourite chocolate pancakes? I was planning to make some anyway."

Nathan smiled, amazed that she still remembered his favourite breakfast. "How can I say no to that?" He looked at her, longing to touch her again but he didn't want to ruin the moment. "Do you need any help?" He asked as he went up to her.

"No I'm good. Well actually you could bring out the plates. They're on the..." Haley said.

"shelve above the microwave. I know where they are Hales."

Haley just smiled. "So how long are you staying?" She slowly asked.

"I'm not sure. There are a couple of things I need to sort out." He looked at Haley knowingly. She simply nodded. "Haley I know you don't wanna talk about it..."

"Ok pancakes ready." She interrupted. Nathan sighed. He knew she shouldn't push her. This was the longest he was with Haley without driving her away. They made small talks while enjoying breakfast, carefully avoiding the one topic that they knew that had to talk about. "So where've you been this past year?" Haley finally asked, holding her breath waiting for him to answer.

"Well I was in New York working on some stuff." Nathan replied vaguely, not offering any further information.

"Hang on I need to give you something." Haley said and got up from her chair. Nathan was left wondering when she came back with a little black box in her hand. "I don't think I can keep this. This doesn't belong to me anymore." She said quietly and held out her hand to him.

Nathan's heart nearly stopped when he saw the box. Her engagement ring. He stared at it and reluctantly took it from her, their fingers grazing making her heart leap.

A few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed as they continued to eat quietly. Amazingly Nathan managed to finish everything on his plate. "Wow I'm stuffed Hales." He quietly added, "I missed this. I missed us." Nathan's eyes were piercing into her soul she had to look away. Seeing her discomfort he changed the subject. "Ok do you need help cleaning up? I'm your man." He grinned. Haley couldn't help but laugh. He always knew how to work his charm around her.

"Yeah do you think you could get some towels from the cabinet above? Sorry, short legs and tall cabinets don't really go well together. " Haley asked without thinking. Only then she realised that the the towel cabinet was right above where she was standing, and the only way Nathan could get them was to reach above her head. She held her breath as Nathan came nearer and reached up, his face inches away from hers. But instead of reaching for the towels, Nathan let his hand fall to her face and gently touched her cheek, the other hand on the counter, making it impossible for her to move.

"Nathan..." She breathed. Nathan held her gaze as he slowly brought his lips down to hers, kissing her with such tenderness her legs almost gave way beneath her. Nathan's heart almost burst as he felt her kissing him back. "Hales..." He whispered, while his tongue seeked to enter. He moaned as her lips parted and gave way to his seeking tongue making Nathan pull her body closer to him. God he missed her lips, he thought as his tongue continued probing, making them both groan.

"Hey Hales! You home?" The sound of Lucas's voice made them both jump. Still Nathan's eyes didn't leave her face, as she touched her lips, swollen from the kiss. "Whoa! Hey...Sorry...I...yeah..." Lucas looked away embarrassed. "So I take it you told her?" Lucas slowly asked.

"Tell me what?" Haley asked looking at the both of them.

"Luke..." Nathan's voice trailed as he tore his gaze from her and looked at his brother.

"You didn't tell her? Nathan..."

"Tell me what?" Haley's voice rose. "What's going on?"

Nathan reluctantly turned his attention to Haley.

"Hales...I need to tell you something...I need to tell you why I left." Nathan said to her, waiting for her to react.

"Nathan, I told you I don't want to talk about it. Please." She said, afraid of what he was going to say. She turned her back on him and started to walk into the living room, with Nathan behind her.

"Haley will you just please listen to him." Lucas interrupted, making Nathan turn his head to him angrily.

"Damn it Luke, this is really none of your business. For once, could you just butt out and go?" He yelled at his brother.

Haley looked at both of them and said, her voice trembling, "No Luke, stay. Nathan, I think you should leave."

"Haley please, just hear me out." Nathan pleaded.

"Hales just listen to him." Lucas said, not backing down.

"For God's sake Luke!" Nathan yelled, frustration evident in his voice but Lucas wouldn't back down.

"He had cancer Hales!"

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys sorry for the late update. Been busy with exams ;) Again thank you so much for your reviews. You guys are the best readers. Here's the next chapter. I changed my rating to M and you'll see why in this chapter. I'm not sure if it's any good coz I've never written love scenes before. If you guys like it lemme know. And if you don't, lemme know too :) Cheers!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Haley's head was spinning from the shock. Nathan held his breath waiting for Haley's reaction. When nobody spoke for what seemed like an eternity, Nathan moved closer to her. "Haley..."

Before he knew it, Haley went up to him and slapped him right across his face. "Get out."

Nathan touched his face in shock.

"I said get out!" Her voice louder this time, tears starting to fall wetting her cheeks.

Nathan just stood there speechless. Realizing that she meant every word, he looked exasperatedly at Lucas before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him.

"How could he Luke? How could he lie to me like that? It wasn't enough that he left and now he had to make up an excuse like that? How could he Luke?" Her chest heaving with sobs that just wouldn't stop.

Lucas went to her and pulled her into her hug. "He wasn't lying Hales."

"How do you know?"

"Remember the weekend I went away a few weeks after you guys were supposed to get married. I told you I was going to see a friend in New York. I went to see him Hales. He had an appointment with the doctor in New York and asked me to go with him."

Haley pushed Lucas away and looked at him in disbelief. "What? You knew all this time and you didn't tell me? How could you Lucas? After everything I've been through when he left. I lost..." She couldn't continue as fresh tears started to fall.

Lucas put a comforting arm around her. "I know Hales but it wasn't my place to tell just like it wasn't my place to tell him what happened after he left. Anyway Nathan made me promise not to tell you. You gotta believe me Haley."

Haley started pacing in the living room. "But why didn't he tell me?" Haley looked at Lucas hoping to get an answer.

"You have to talk to him Haley. I know you're hurt but he's hurting too. More than you know." When she didn't reply he continued. "You know, everytime I spoke to him he would ask about you. He loves you Hales. I'm really sorry for going behind you back like this but I couldn't break my promise."

"I know." Haley said quietly. Wiping the tears from her face, she turned to face him. "Would you mind leaving? I really need to be alone right now."

Lucas looked at her, his eyes full of concern. "I don't want to leave you like this Hales but if that's what you want. Just call me if you need anything ok?" He started to walk to the door and with one last look at his friend he said, "Just talk to him Hales." Haley gave him a watery smile and said, "Just go Luke."

* * *

"Hey you. I heard what happened. You ok?" Peyton asked, concern written all over her face as she looked at Nathan. His face was expressionless as he stared at the tv in his living room. It's been hours since he left Haley's place, his brain kept rewinding what happened.

"Nathan?" Peyton called his name again. "Ok move over." She said when he didn't answer, pushing him on the couch so she could sit next to him. "Do you wanna talk?" He kept silent. "Ok fine, I can just sit here." They sat in a comfortable silence, Peyton knowing that he would open up to her once he's ready. They dated briefly in high school and although the relationship didn't last, they remained close.

"She threw me out Peyton. Lucas just blurted it out and she threw me out." He finally spoke.

"Yeah sorry about that Nate." Nathan turned his head to the sound of his brother's voice. "She wouldn't listen and you wouldn't tell her. You can be mad at me all you want but I just had to." Nathan kept silent and continued to stare at the screen. Lucas and Peyton looked at each other helpless.

"How is she?" He asked after a moment of silence. He still couldn't believe what just happened. Everything was going so well until Lucas came along. As much as he wanted to be angry at Lucas, he knew he was to blame for the most part.

Lucas answered reluctantly. "She thought you were lying. But I told her about the time I went to New York with you to see the doctor." Nathan closed his eyes briefly. A part of him wanted so much to see Haley and take her in his arms, to make all the pain that he had caused, but he knew better. He could still feel his lips tingle from their kiss this morning. He remembered the taste of her lips on his. He remembered the feel of her body so close to him. A silent tear fell down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, afraid that Peyton and Lucas might see it.

"I really messed this one up huh. I shouldn't have come back." He said without looking at either of them. "Nothing good came out from me coming back. If I hadn't come back, she would've forgotten about me. And as much as the thought of knowing she's with someone else, at least she'll be happy."

"What the hell Nate? I saw the kiss! I know it meant something to her! Don't do this to again Nathan. Not to yourself and not to Haley." Lucas pleaded.

Peyton jumped up from the couch. "Whoa! What kiss?"

Nathan looked at her and said, "I kinda kiss her this morning."

Lucas smirked. "Didn't look like a "kinda kiss" to me." Nathan looked at him with murder in his eyes. Lucas held up his hands and said, "I'm just saying man..."

"Nathan that's great." Peyton said.

"Yeah it was great until my dumbass of a brother came along." Nathan sighed. "Look I know you're only looking out for me but the next time you butt into my business, I swear to God I'm gonna kill you."

Lucas looked at his sheepishly. "Yeah I figured you would say that."

"Listen guys I need to pack. I have to go back to New York tomorrow. You guys can stick around if you want ." Nathan said as he started to get up from the couch.

"Nathan, you are not going anywhere. If I have to sit on you to make you stay, I'll do it. And I'll get Brooke to join me. And Jake!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Oh God take a chill pill Peyton. I have an appointment to see the doctor. I'll be back on Monday."

Lucas gave his brother a confused look. "What appointment? I thought they got rid of the tumor?"

"Yeah they did but with all the chemo and pills they just wanna check that I'm responding they way I should. Luke, I know that look. There's nothing to worry about. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything." Nathan said to reassure Lucas.

"Ok whatever you say Nathan. But if I don't hear from you, you know I'll be on the first flight out." Nathan nodded and left Lucas and Peyton with their own thoughts.

* * *

"Wow that must have been intense." Brooke exhaled when Lucas and Peyton told her what happened. The three of them and Jake were at the dock having ice cream. Despite what happened between Nathan and Haley, it was a beautiful day and it would be a shame not to enjoy the sun. Besides they were bracing themselves for the heavy rain that was forecasted for tonight. "How are they?" Brooke asked while enjoying her vanilla ice cream cone.

"Not good at all. Anyway Nathan's going back to New York. Some doctor's appointment he has to go to tomorrow. Hey you've got ice cream on your nose. Here let me." Lucas peered at his girlfriend but instead of wiping the ice cream off, he bit her nose making her jump.

"Ow! Dammit Luke! What was that for?" Brooke yelled while Peyton and Jake burst out laughing.

"Sorry pretty girl. It was just too tempting." Lucas grinned giving Brooke his mischievous look.

"You're lucky you're hot or I would've pushed you over this railing." Brooke said and stood on her toes to give him a kiss.

"Ewwww...gross. I didn't need to see that. Here Peyton you can finish my ice cream. I've lost my appetite." Jake said giving them a disgusted look.

Brooke smacked him and said, "Oh come on Jake. You and Peyton would have mauled each other if we weren't here. What, the after engagement party sex wasn't enough?" She said with an innocent look on her face.

"Oooh you're so dead Brooke! Come here!" Peyton started chasing her best friend down the pier, their laughter trailing in the wind.

"Dude are you sure you wanna marry a 15 year old?" Lucas joked.

"Dead sure." Jake grinned. After a short silence he turned to Lucas. "So Nathan's going back to New York huh? He didn't tell you anything right? I mean the cancer's gone for sure?"

Lucas understood the worry reflected in his friend's face. The three of them practically grew up together. Although Lucas and Nathan were half brothers, they were very close and nobody would have guessed that they didn't come from the same womb. And having Jake in the gang was an added bonus. "Yeah he just said that they wanted to check whether all the treatment really worked. Anyway, you know what Nathan's like. Sure he doesn't like to talk about it but he'll tell us if there's anything wrong."

"Like the time he told us he had cancer a year ago?" Jake asked with raised eyebrows and sighed. "Come on let's check on the girls before they kill each other." _Oh boy, here we go again. _Lucas mused.

* * *

_This is a mistake. _Haley thought as she found himself outside Nathan's door shivering. Her clothes were wet from running in the rain. There was no way she could turn around now as a heavy thunder was heard on the background. She hesitated, not knowing where the night would lead her. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A surprised looking Nathan answered the door, wearing nothing but his old Ravens shorts. "Haley what are you doing here? It's crazy out there." Nathan smirked when he noticed Haley staring at his body. "Like what you see?" He couldn't help but tease.

"Oh sorry. Hey can I talk to you?" Haley asked slowly.

"Do you promise to keep your hands to yourself?" Nathan asked. When he saw the confused look on her face he said, "My face is still tingling from this morning." Haley kept silent. "Come on in." His heart was hammering in his chest. He didn't know why she was here but he wasn't going to complain either. "Let me get you some towels." He joined her in the living room a few minutes later and watched her drying her hair. It took all of his will not to take her in him arms and continued where they left off this morning.

"When did you find out?" She asked.

He knew this moment was going to come. He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. "Remember the day you dragged me to the mall to look for Lucas's birthday present? We were walking and suddenly I got this headache."

"Yeah you told me it was nothing."

"Well I've been having the headache for a couple of weeks so I decided to see the doctor. Turned out I had a small tumor in my brain." Nathan said taking his place next to her on the couch. Her silence didn't go unnoticed. "The doctor told me there was a big chance of removing it but it kept me thinking that there was also a small chance of them not being able to. You have to believe that when I asked you to marry me, I meant every word. I just didn't want to start our marriage with you having to carry me to the bathroom every couple of minutes so I could throw up. I love you too much to let you go through that."

Haley looked at him and said, "You know if we did get married that day, I would have said the vow 'in sickness and in health.'"

"Haley, you have to understand I couldn't do that to you."

"And you thought leaving me on our wedding was the best way? Dammit Nathan! All this time I thought that I wasn't enough for you. That you've stopped loving me..."

"Haley I could never stop loving you. You know what kept me going this past year? You. Not a single day went by that I didn't think of you." Nathan said, wiping her tears.

She closed her eyes at his touch. "It's too late Nathan..."

"No Hales. Don't say that!" He begged, his voice broke as he tried to stop his own tears from falling.

"You hurt me Nathan. And I don't think there's anything you can say or do..." Before she knew it, she felt Nathan's lips on hers, crushing them in a hot searing kiss. "Nathan..." he heard her whisper her name. God he missed hearing her say his name. He looked into her beautiful eyes, filled with uncertainty.

"Just tell me to stop and I'll stop." He breathed against her lips, his heart pounding. She felt her head spin. Her head was screaming no, but her heart...

"I can't...I can't tell you to stop." It was all he needed to hear before he captured her lips again , his tongue seeking to enter. He groaned as he felt her lips parting, giving him access. "God Hales..." Their kiss deepened until they were both fighting for air. He saw her eyes darken with want. He wanted to, needed to believe there was still love in those beautiful eyes. He lifted her from the couch, expecting her to resist, overjoyed when she didn't and carried her into his bedroom, his eyes never leaving hers.

They made love slowly, taking pleasure in the feel of each other's body. He closed his eyes everytime she whispered her name, his lips kissing every inch of her body possessively. He wanted the night to never end, afraid of what tomorrow would bring. He felt her tremble under his touch. He parted her legs and she instinctively wrapped them around his waist, gasping when she felt him enter. "Nathan..."

He caught her lips as they moved in unison. He knew her too well, he knew every sound she made. "Nathan!"

"Oh God Haley!" They both screamed, finding release in each other. He collapsed on top of her, careful not to crush her small frame and pulled her into his arms. He touched her face and said the words he had been longing to say, "I love you."

"I know." She whispered as she looked into his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere Haley." He told her softly as sleep overcame him.

She laid with her eyes open, listening to his heavy breathing as he slept, his arm never leaving her as if afraid that she would disappear. She was filled with mixed emotions. She knew what she must do and got up, carefully lifting his arm so as not to wake him. She got dressed slowly and walked up the bed, kissing his face softly with tears in her eyes. "Goodbye Nathan."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys thank you so much for your reviews and I know guys can't wait for Nathan and Haley to get back together again. But Naley without angst wouldn't be fun, would it? ;) Anyway, here's the latest chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. 2 weeks left till the next epi. Can't wait! And keep the reviews coming and let me know what you guys think. You guys are the best! Cheers!**

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Chapter 6

Nathan woke up smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept so soundly. "Good morning." He whispered, reaching out for her and was greeted with an empty bed. "Haley?" He looked around searching for her. Realising that she was gone, he ran his fingers through his hair and swore under his breath. "Dammit!"

* * *

"Haley, hey. I didn't see you yesterday. Are you alright?" Karen said, referring to the Saturday ritual that Haley, Brooke and Peyton made up when they were in 8th grade. She looked at Haley worriedly. She was like the daughter she never had and the fact that she was best friends with her son made her even happier.

"Yeah I'm fine. I didn't feel so good yesterday." Haley lied avoiding her eyes.

Her discomfort didn't escape Karen. "So Nathan's back." She said offering her a cup of steaming hot coffee and looked at her expectantly. Haley just sipped her coffee in silence.

Karen sighed. "Come here. Sit with me." She said, taking her hand and led her to one of the empty tables in her cafe. "Talk to me Haley." She said ignoring the stream of people coming in for their Sunday coffee.

Haley lifted her face and dared herself to look at the older woman. "There's nothing to talk about." She said carefully.

"Haley listen to me. I know how it feels like to have the person you love the most walk away. I was like you 22 years ago when my heart got broken. You have always been strong Haley. Just have faith." Karen said to her softly referring to Dan Scott, Nathan's father. They were high school sweethearts until they found out Karen was pregnant with Lucas. As soon as he found out, he made it clear that he didn't want to have anything to do with her or her unborn baby. A few months later, she learned that he had married Deb, Nathan's mother. Ironically enough, for some reason Deb and Karen had formed a strong friendship.

"But you have Keith now, Karen. You're nothing like me." She said defiantly.

"And you have Nathan. You still have him. He's still so in love with you after all this time. And there's a difference between loving somebody and being in love with somebody. What happened a year ago cannot be changed, no matter how much you want it to. What matters is now. I've known you and Nathan since you were kids. I've seen you two grow and I've watched you fall in love. What you two shared, nothing can take that away unless you want it to be taken away. Don't let that happen. Don't throw away your chance at happiness. Trust me, you'll live a life of regret if you do." She said soothingly. "Promise me you'll think about it."

Haley looked at Karen, sadness reflecting in her eyes. She was like a mother to her. Her parents had gone to Los Angeles a couple of years ago when her dad was offered a job there, and she insisted on staying in Tree Hill with Nathan to plan their life together. She knew that she could always count on Karen to give her advice when she needed it. She nodded and said, "Ok I will."

* * *

Nathan looked out the airplane window. He had been itching to get back to Tree Hill ever since his appointment with the doctor was over and decided to come home instead of spending the night in New York.

_Flashback_

_"Nathan Scott. Dr. Cameron's ready to see you." The nurse's voice could be heard down the hospital hall. He got up and took a deep breath before entering the doctor's office. _

_"Hi Nathan. It's good to see you again. Why don't you take a seat. I've run some tests and it looks like..." _

_End of flashback._

He was half listening to what Dr. Cameron was saying at his office and let his mind drift to the night before. He had thought that Haley had finally let him back in her heart, not expecting his euphoria to be cut short when he woke up. She had been willing to give her body to him last night, but now he knew that he was nowhere near her heart.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking." The sound of the captain's voice boomed, snapping him out of his daydream. "We'll be landing in Tree Hill in 15 minutes. Kindly fasten your seatbelt and we hope to see you again soon." Nathan eagerly did as instructed and waited in anticipation for the plane to land.

* * *

Nathan looked around the cafe searching for her face in the crowd. He found her smiling at a customer while giving him his chance. "Thanks Jackson. And I'll see you in class tomorrow." The first smile he'd seen on her face since he came back to Tree Hill. He knew that she always helped Karen around the cafe on Sunday and as soon as he landed, he drove here to find her. Haley heard the sound of the door opening, expecting a new customer. "Hi could you give me minute and I'll get a clean table for you." She said, not looking up from the cash register.

"Hey." A deep throaty voice greeted her. A voice she only knew too well. She looked up and met his eyes. "You left early." Nathan said softly. She quickly pulled her hand away before he managed to reach for it and turned around, pretending to be busy.

"Yeah I had to come here to help Karen out. It's pretty busy on Sundays." She said, not giving away anything. "Here's your coffee sir." She said to a customer, trying to avoid talking to Nathan.

"So I notice. Listen can we talk?"

"I'm sorry I can't leave Karen alone. It's crazy today and I promised her I'd help." She replied making up an excuse. She didn't notice Karen coming up behind her.

"It's ok Haley. I think I can handle it. Besides Lucas is coming by later." She said while giving Nathan a knowing look.

Haley looked at her pleadingly and said, "Are you sure? I can stay if you want me to."

"I'm fine. Go." Karen replied firmly. Haley reluctantly hung her apron and followed Nathan out. Nathan turned around to Karen and mouthed gratefully, "thank you."

They walked in silence until they reached the pier. Thankfully there were not many people around which gave him a chance to have a talk with Haley. The weather was good after the storm last night. Nathan watched as the wind softly blew Haley's hair. His breath caught in his throat as he marveled at how beautiful she was. She was wearing a simple top and a short skirt and she still managed to take his breath away. There was something about her that pulled him to her like a magnet. A quiet innocence that he never knew someone could have. He took her hand and led her to a table. "So why did you really leave?" He asked refusing to let her hand go, his eyes searching hers for telltale signs.

"Nathan, I told you I had to help Karen out at the cafe." She answered.

"Look into my eyes Haley and stop lying to me." He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes, daring her to look at him. "Haley talk to me." He pleaded.

"What's there to talk about Nathan? We had sex and I left." Her words cut through his heart. He looked at her in disbelief. Back in high school, he had sex with a lot of girls, merely treating them as his conquest for the week. But not with Haley. He had never had "just sex" with her. Everytime they were together, she took him to a new level of intimacy and passion, the conquerer became the conquered, which was why her words almost tore him apart.

"We had sex? That's it? That's all you have to say? Haley, what we did last night was more than sex and you know it." His eyes never left her face as he said, "I meant what I said last night Haley. I love you. I don't expect you to tell me you love me after what I did to you but I want you to know that. I love you. I've never stopped. So don't tell me that what he had last night was just sex. Maybe it was just sex to you but it sure as hell wasn't to me." He said to her, his voice breaking.

"Nathan, stop...Don't do this." She pleaded, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Stop what? Loving you? I can't Haley. You can push me away all you want but I won't stop. I'll never stop." He answered, not bothering to wipe the tears that had started falling, not caring if anybody saw. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had come so close to reaching out to her and now she had cut the thread that linked them together. She closed her eyes letting her own tears fall.

"I came back to Tree Hill for your forgiveness. But I don't expect it." He continued. "But I never expect you to be so cruel. After everything we had together. Don't give up on us. Don't lose faith in us. Please."

"There is no us Nathan. You made sure of that the day you left me." She stammered and continued, "last night was a mistake. It didn't mean anything."

"Haley, you don't mean that. It always means something to us." He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He didn't expect her to shut him out like this and it broke his heart seeing her like this, losing faith in them.

"I forgive you Nathan." He felt a glimmer of hope upon hearing those words. "But you let me go a year ago. Now...now I'm letting you go." She whispered softly as tears kept streaming down her face.

His voice trembled as he asked, "what do you mean you're letting me go?" He looked at her, letting her words sink in refusing to understand.

"I'm sorry I can't do this anymore. When you left it nearly killed me. I can't keep giving my heart to you and letting you tear it to pieces. I just can't. I don't think my heart can take it anymore." She sobbed as she continued, "So I'm letting you go. I'm letting us go."

Nathan couldn't contain his frustration any longer. "You think your heart was the only one breaking that day. What about me? The day I left I made the most difficult decision I had to make in life. But I had to choose between my happiness and your misery. I wanted so bad to see you walk down that aisle, to say the words that would make you mine forever..."

"Then why didn't you? I thought you trusted me enough to let me share your pain with you. You think that I would be in misery taking care of the man I loved? Always and forever remember? But you wouldn't let me. You chose to leave! So don't you dare blame me for not trusting you with my heart again! You have no idea what I went through this past year Nathan."

"So tell me." He said, pain searing through his heart as he heard her cry. God, she wanted so much to tell him, to let him feel the hurt. She wanted him to hurt just as much as she did. She was torn between letting him know and bottling it all inside and she stubbornly chose the latter.

"What good would it do? It's too late Nathan."

"Haley, I'm so sorry. If I could take it all back I would." She felt the wall around her beginning to crumble but she had made up her mind.

"Well you can't, can you?" She continued. "I loved you Nathan. I would've walked through fire for you. But you wouldn't let me. I believe you when you said that you love me, and I want to say those same words to you so badly but I can't. I can't let you hurt me again. I won't."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Always and forever._ He said under his breath and lifted his face to look at her, her hands in his. "Hales, you can push me away as much as you want but I meant what I said, I'm not going anywhere." He said softly. "I know you're scared and I'm scared too. But I promise you I'll never hurt you again." He looked at her beautiful face, wishing he could erase all the pain in her eyes. "There are many things in this life I don't believe in, but I believe in us. I believe that we're meant to be together no matter how hard you try to fight it. And the day you stop fighting it, I'll be here. I promise. I'll wait forever for you even if I have to."

"Nathan I have to go." She said pulling her hands away and got up. She started to walk away from him when she felt his hand grab her arm. She turned around to face him.

"I'm not gonna lose you Haley. Not again. But if you need time to think about us again, then go. I won't stop you. Just know that I'll always be here waiting for you." He said as he kissed her softly on her lips before letting her go. He watched her walk away. The woman he loved. He felt his heart constrict. She was everything to him. The air that he breathed. _I'll get you back Haley._ He promised himself.

* * *

Haley walked down the school hall in a trance like manner and went into her classroom. She was glad to be in school again. The one place where she could really breathe. She jumped at the sound of Lucas's voice. "Hey Hales, I got you coffee from the teachers' lounge. Here you go, one sugar, just the way you like it."

"Thanks Luke." She took the coffee from his hand and sipped the hot liquid gratefully.

"Whoa, rough night?" He asked noticing the weary look on her face.

She laughed bitterly. "No, more like rough week. God Luke how did I get to this point?" She covered her face with her hands in frustration.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So did you speak to Nathan yet?" He asked inquiringly. Her head shot up at his question.

"About what?"

"About him going to New York yesterday. He had a doctor's appointment or something. Hey, where's your head at this morning?" His eyebrows raised questioningly.

"What? He went to New York yesterday? For what? No...he didn't tell me." She looked up at him in surprise.

Lucas didn't notice the worry in her face. "Well I'm sure it's nothing. I saw his car in the driveway yesterday so he must be back. I just didn't want to bother him. Anyway, I'll see him after school. He agreed to help me out with the team this year."

"He did what?" Haley heard her ask Lucas, her voice slightly raise. _He's really not gonna leave me alone. Great._

"Morning Miss James." A student walked by her desk and gave her a smile. A few minutes later a steady stream of her study trickled in as the bell rang.

"Morning Taylor." She answered and turned to Lucas. "Listen I'll see you during lunch ok. Turner's gonna walk by any minute now and he won't be happy to see you here. Remember the last time he practically threw you out of my class when he caught us talking just before class started?"

Lucas laughed and held up his hands. "Ok fine. I'll see you later buddy. I wouldn't want to get fired and let Nathan take my job that easily."

"Yeah, we sure wouldn't want that, would we?" She said under her breath and turned to smile at the expectant faces of her students.

* * *

Nathan found them outside having lunch and immediately walked faster. Haley was laughing at something Lucas was saying and the sound of her laughter was like music to his ears. He purposely sat down next to Haley, much to her surprise. She started to move away from him when he put her hands on the small of her back and said, "wow those fries look good. Mind if I take some?" He didn't wait for an answer and started to pick at the fries on her plate, leaving Haley and Lucas with confused look on their faces.

"Excuse me. Get your own plate." Haley said irritated and started to pull her plate away.

"Wow somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed recently." He looked at her innocently and was rewarded with a glare. He laughed inwardly. Haley has always been feisty and he loved that about her. "So what's going on Luke. I got your text saying we have practice today." He said purposely ignoring her.

"Yeah we do. We've got a game coming up this Thursday." Lucas said looking at the two of them, trying to understand what was going on. There was no yelling and no tears this time but the way they were acting were too weird. "What's going on guys? Shall I leave you two to your normal screaming and bitch slapping?" He asked jokingly.

"What?" Nathan looked at him innocently. "Haley and I talked and we decided to be friends. It's what she wanted and I have to respect that. Right Hales?" He said, still nibbling on her fries.

Haley pretended not to hear him. _What the hell is he doing?_

"Okay this is just too weird. You and Haley? Friends? You guys were never friends." He was greeted with silence. "Ok whatever man. I'm gonna go to the gym to set things up for this afternoon. See you guys later. Oh yeah Nate, how did the appointment go?"

Nathan looked up at his brother in surprise. "Oh it was nothing. I'll talk to you later ok." Lucas nodded and left them alone.

"So I heard you had a doctor's appointment in New York yesterday." Haley said slowly.

"Why? Are you worried?" He looked at her, the sun capturing her face perfectly in the warm breeze.

"Well if we're gonna be friends, I should be worried right?" She retorted. _Two can play this game. _"So what did the doctor say?" She continued to probe.

"Well I still have to take my meds but the treatment worked. It's gone."

"That's great Nathan. Listen I have to go. I'll see you around." She said shyly. Nathan immediately got up and pulled her into his arms.

She looked at him in shock. "Nathan, what are you doing?"

He simply looked into her eyes and said, "I'm giving you a friendly kiss." And before she could protest he crushed his lips on her in an earth shattering kiss before letting her go.

She stammered. "Do you give all your friends friendly kisses like that?"

"Nope. Just you." He smiled and walked away, leaving Haley rooted to the ground, speechless.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys I'm back with a new chapter. Your reviews have been awesome! I love reading all of them. I really appreciate them so keep them coming. A little shoutout to foreverlove23 thanks for the good luck wish ;)**

* * *

Chapter 7

Lucas looked at Nathan with a look full of interest that night as they were having dinner. "Dude, you're giving me the creeps. What the hell are you doing looking at me like that?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing I'm just wondering what the whole "friends" thing is all about. It's just weird. Care to fill me in?" Lucas asked leaning back in his chair. Knowing his brother, he's got something up his sleeves.

"It's nothing. I tried to reach out to Haley and she wasn't ready so I decided the best way to be close to her is by being her friend. What's wrong with that?" Nathan replied nonchalantly, still munching on his pizza. Lucas kept on staring at him. "Seriously Luke. Stop staring at me like. If you weren't my brother I would've thought you have the hots for me."

"Ewwww gross man!" Lucas shuddered in disgust.

"So stop looking at me! And finish your pizza. It's getting cold."

"See I don't think Haley wants to be your friend so much right now. Did you notice the look she gave you? Man, if looks could kill you'd be six feet underground right now." Lucas said, still unconvinced of Nathan's motives.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see won't we? Come on man. Hurry up we promised Skills and Mouth we'd be at River Court in 15 minutes."

"Fine. If you're not telling me that's cool." Lucas said grudgingly. So did the doctor really gave you the all clear?" He asked changing the subject, sensing that Nathan was not going to divulge anything. His question was met with silence.

"Yeah about that." Nathan finally replied. "He did gave me the all clear. I still have to finish my meds but there's something else..." He proceeded to tell Lucas about his meeting with the doctor. When he finished, Lucas looked at him worriedly.

"Is there anything you can do about that?" He asked.

"I'll just have to take some extra pills he gave me and hope for the best. Look I don't want you to be worried. At least the cancer's gone right?" Nathan said trying to reassure his brother.

"Yeah I suppose so. Does Haley know?" He asked and was met with silence which gave him the answer. He sighed. "Nathan..."

Nathan looked at him warningly. "Don't start with me Luke. Come on, we're late." He said and grabbed his jacket putting an end to their conversation.

* * *

Haley was still fuming the next day thinking about Nathan's kiss as she got ready to go to school. She didn't know what game Nathan was playing but she was determined not to let him get to her head. She sighed. _What am I talking about? He's always in my head. _"Aaaaarrrrgghhh!!" She groaned in frustration.

"Whoa...Haley put...the...knife...down...slowly." She turned around and saw Nathan with hands in the air, a grin plastered on his face.

"How did you get in? And what are you doing here?" Haley asked looking at him incredulously.

Nathan was still smiling when he said, "You know Hales, you should really use that lock on your door. You never know who's gonna pop up. Anyway I came by to see if you need a ride to school. And seriously, put the knife down. You're gonna hurt someone."

"Oh sorry." She smiled sheepishly. "No it's ok. I can take my own car." She was not gonna give Nathan a chance to be alone with her.

"Ah see I knew you were gonna say that. But it's Tuesday and you usually fill in your gas tank on Tuesday so that's gonna make you late for school. I still don't know why you just don't fill in the gas tank on Sunday." He saw the hesitation in her eyes. "Come on Hales. We can save the environment. See? Two birds with one stone."

"Ok fine. But don't you try anything on me." She warned.

Nathan came closer and gave her an innocent look. "Try what? This?" He teased as he lowered his face and caught her lips, kissing her tenderly. Haley was too shocked to push him away and gave in to his kiss making him pull her closer. "God you're beautiful Hales." He whispered against her lips.

"Dammit Nathan. Stop doing that." She breathed when she finally pulled away. Her cheeks were blushing and it only made Nathan want her more, but he knew his limits. "Well, are you giving me a ride or not?" She asked him.

"What? No breakfast?" He teased.

"Nathan!" She yelled in frustration. _God he's so infuriating._

Nathan gave a her a deep throaty laugh and said as he picked up her books, "alright come on."

The ride to school was filled with silence. Nathan knew better than to push her, content to be in her presence. He knew that she still loved him, he just had to find a way to make Haley give in. He switched on the radio, and looked for a station that he knew Haley liked to listen to. After a few minutes, he could hear her humming along to the song and he smiled. "So do you still sing?" He asked. Haley had a beautiful voice and sometimes when they were together, she would sing to him.

"Yeah but my audience nowadays is limited to the rubber ducky in my shower." She said with a laugh, refusing to look at him. "Ok we're here. Thanks for the ride." She exclaimed as she practically jumped out of his car.

"Wow you sure couldn't wait to get away from me huh?" He said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later Hales." He said with a wink. Haley ran her fingers through her hair. She didn't know what to make of him. A part of her loved being close to him but she just didn't think she could trust him. With a sigh, she made her way to her classroom.

* * *

It was a Saturday and as usual Haley, Brooke and Peyton were at Karen's cafe having their breakfast. Behind them at the counter, Lucas and Jake were deep and conversation. "He told you that?" Jake asked Lucas with an incredulous expression on his face. "Wow. That's messed up man. Does Haley know?"

Lucas shook his head in response while sipping his coffee. There were quite a lot of people in the cafe that day which enabled him to talk to Jake without the girls hearing their conversation. "Nope and I don't think he plans to tell her anytime soon. I mean they're not really together anyway so I can understand why he doesn't want her to know."

"Come on man. You know that they are getting back together. He just needs to put some sense in her head." Jake said while looking over his shoulder at Haley laughing at something Brooke said.

"I don't know Jake. He did hurt her pretty bad and it's not something you can bounce out of very quickly. And you know how stubborn Haley is."

Brooke's voice interrupted their conversation. "Hey what are you guys doing whispering back there? Bitching about us?" She asked curiously. Lucas went over and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Ah pretty girl, I could never bitch about you." He kissed her nose, emitting a giggle from her.

Haley groaned at the scene before her. "God guys, get a room." She stood up and headed to the piano. It's been a while since played it. The last time was a few weeks before her wedding when Nathan practically begged her to sing him a song.

_Flashback_

_"Come on Hales. I love it when you sing to me. Just one song. You know that Sarah Mclach-whatever-her-name-is song that you love.There's no one here anyway. Please." He begged._

_She relented. She could never say no to those eyes. "Ok fine. One song and that's it." She took a deep breath and glanced at him and he closed his eyes briefly at the sound of her voice.  
_

_"I love the time and between  
The calm inside me in a space where I can breathe  
I believe there is a distance I have wandered  
To touch upon the years of  
Reaching out and reaching in  
Holding out holding in_

_I believe  
This is heaven to no one else but me  
And I'll defend it as long as I can be  
Left here to linger in silence  
If I choose to  
Would you try to understand"_

_She remembered the look on Nathan's face as he watched her sing to the sound of the piano. It was as if he was trying to remember everything about her. Her voice. Her face. Her.  
_

_End of flashback._

And now she knew why. She tentatively touched the keys and began humming. She was lost in her own world and didn't hear Nathan coming in the cafe. Lucas nudged Brooke and Peyton. "Hey wanna see something weird?" He asked and inclined his head at Nathan's direction. The gang watched as Nathan came in behind Haley and ruffled her hair making her squeal.

"Nathan! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She exclaimed smacking his hand which made Nathan laughed.

"Errr what are they doing? Are they getting back together?" Peyton said, not taking her eyes off them.

Lucas shook his head. "Nope he said they're just friends. Was that weird of what?"

"Well not really." Peyton answered. "Knowing Nathan he's got something planned. I don't think he's gonna give up on Haley without a fight. Awww look at them. They totally belong together." She gushed as she looked on.

Nathan grinned at Haley, noticing the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him. "Hey, move over. So are you gonna sing me a song today?" He whispered in her ear as he sat next to her, sending shivers down her spine.

"Sorry, not gonna happen. There's a lot of people in here. You know how scared I am playing in front of people." She said her fingers continuing to hit the keys softly. Her cheeks flushed as she felt Nathan move closer to her.

"Hey what do you say to a dinner with me tonight? Just a friendly one. Nothing more." He asked. She stiffened at the question. She turned her head and looked into his eyes trying to read his mind.

She answered slowly. "No I don't think so. I've got a lot of papers to mark. I promised my students I was gonna give them their essay marks on Monday. Sorry." She said, relieved at finding an excuse but Nathan wasn't about to back down.

"Come on, you gotta eat something. Ok I tell you what. Why don't I help you read the essays and we can order some pizza or something. How does that sound?" He insisted.

"Nathan, you don't have to do that..."

She didn't manage to finish her sentence when he said, "Great! I'll come over at 7." He winked at her before heading towards the table where Lucas and the rest was sitting. "Hey guys. How's it going?"

Peyton looked at him and laughed. "We were wondering when you were gonna come over. Hey what did you say to Haley? She looks like she just swallowed a frog." She asked him.

"Nothing you guys should know about." He answered vaguely with a grin. "Man I'm hungry. Hey Lucas, does you mom still make her famous apple pie? I've been craving for that."

Lucas looked up from the book he was reading. "Yeah I think there's still some more. And I'm not getting one for you. Move your lazy ass and get it yourself." He said, knowing his brother only too well before turning back to his reading.

"Oh come on Luke. I just got here. Please...Hey cancer patient remember?" He joked. Just then Haley came to the table, and seeing that there was no other place to sit except next to Nathan, she reluctantly sat down.

"You're an ass Nate. You can't use that trick forever. By the way you're no longer a patient so cut the crap." Lucas admonished. He sighed and said, "Ok fine. Just this once" before getting up to get his brother a piece of pie.

"Oh and could you also get me a cup of coffee too? Thanks man." Lucas shook his head before smacking the back of Nathan's head making everybody laugh. "Hey Hales, your birthday is coming up next week. Any plans?" He asked turning to look at her who was looking more uncomfortable by the minute.

"No not really." She answered.

"Ooooooh I know! Why don't we have a beach party? That would be so awesome. We can have a barbecue and get Skills and Mouth to come. And Nathan we can use your beach house." Brooke rubbed her hand gleefully. Without waiting for an answer she continued, "Ok it's settled. We're so having a beach party for Tutorgirl. I'm a genius!"

Lucas returned with a mug of coffee and a plate of apple pie. "Sorry why are you a genius?" He asked.

"We're having a beach party for Haley's birthday. Brooke for once I agree with you. Sounds kinda cool actually. How about we do it next weekend?" Jake said looking at Peyton for her agreement.

"Yeah I'm all for beach party. I can provide the music." Peyton nodded excitedly.

Haley watched their exchange before clearing her voice. "Erm excuse me guys. Can the birthday girl speak now?"

"No you can't because you'll only say no. Come on Hales it's gonna be fun." Nathan said putting an arm around her waist, loving the feel of her skin exposed just below her top. She jumped at the touch of his hand but didn't make any move to remove it.

"Ok fine." She agreed grudgingly. "But it'd better be a good one. If not I'm heading home."

"What are you talking about? It's gonna be great! P Sawyer and B Davis planning a party? This party's gonna rock!" Brooke grinned, showing her dimples. Suddenly she turned to Nathan and Haley and looked at them with interest. "Hey Haley, how come Nathan calls you Hales but you never call him Nate?" She asked.

"Oh yeah. Now that Brooke mentioned it. So what's the story Haley?" Brooke joined it.

Nathan turned to Haley, his eyes burning into hers making her look away. "Yeah, what's that all about Hales?"

_Flashback_

_They had been going out for a few months when he took her to the beach one night. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the warm summer air and when she opened them, she saw Nathan looking at her with an odd look on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that? You're embarrassing me." She said nervously. He pulled her close and said, "I could love you forever Hales."_

_"I could love you forever too Nate." She whispered giving him a soft kiss on his lips. He pulled away and said, "Nathan. I don't want you to ever call me Nate."_

_She looked confused. "Why? Everybody calls you Nate."_

_"That's why. You're not everybody Hales." He said looking deep into her eyes. "Promise me?"_

_"Promise." She smiled._

_"That's my girl." He said and wrapped his arms around her._

_End of flashback._

She looked at them and said nonchalantly avoiding Nathan's gaze, "I don't know. I guess I'm just not comfortable calling him Nate. So what are we having for the barbecue?" She asked hoping to change the subject. It worked and they started chatting happily about the weekend plan as Nathan tore his gaze away from her.

* * *

Haley groaned as another sneeze came out from her. She had been having the flu since they got back from the cafe. Her body was aching and her house was in a mess. Her head felt like it was gonna explode when she heard the door bell ring. She emitted another groan as she practically dragged her feet to the door.

"Hey Hales. Ready to mark some papers?" His smile faded when he saw her disheveled look. "Geez, are you okay? Did you get caught in the rain justnow?" He swore under his breath and mentally berated himself. "I should've brought you home instead of letting you walk."

Haley opened the door and let him in. "Nathan, it's just the flu. Stop worrying."

"Come on I'll make you tea." He said as he walked into her kitchen and whistled. "Wow, did I just step into the wrong house? Haley James's kitchen. In a mess. I gotta take a picture of this." He said jokingly and looked around at the dirty dishes in the sink and paper strewn all over the table.

She gave him a sheepish look. "I know but my body's aching like hell."

"Looks like a job for Nathan Scott." He said and started to boil some water to make tea.

"Nathan you don't have to do this." She started to protest.

"I want to. Now why don't you lie down and I'll make some tea." He saw her hesitating and said patiently, "Haley you're gonna lie down even if it means I'm gonna have to carry you. Go." His eyes wouldn't leave her until she was lying on the couch. "Are you hungry?" He asked.

"No I really don't feel like eating right now." She said as sneezed.

"You sound terrible Hales. I'm gonna make you some chicken noodle soup ok."

Haley looked up in surprise. "Since when can you cook?"

Nathan smirked and said, "well when you've been living by yourself, you kinda have to. Extra noodle right?"

"So the other day when you said you'd make breakfast, you weren't joking?" She asked.

He just shrugged. "Why aren't you lying down?" He asked when he saw her just leaning back on the couch.

"Why don't you move your head sideways so it looks like I'm lying down." She said sarcastically and he laughed.

A few minutes later, he walked over to her with a steaming mug of tea and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. "Ok sit up and drink your tea. Do you want me to read the essay papers for you?" He said as he sat lifted her legs and put them on his lap, giving her feet tiny massages to ease the aching pain.

She shook her head and groaned. "Oh God no. I don't think I can do that tonight. My head's killing me."

"Wow Nathan this is actually quite good." She said as she sipped her tea and drank her soup. She closed her eyes as Nathan's hands worked his magic on her feet. "Oh that feels good." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He smiled, her hands never leaving her feet. "No problem. That's what friends are for right?" He looked at her softly as she yawned sleepily. A few minutes later he could hear her soft breathing as she slept exhaustion finally getting to her. He slowly lifted her legs and carried her to her bedroom, gently putting her on the bed. He gently caressed her face and gave her a soft kiss. "I love you Hales. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He whispered in her ear and made himself comfortable on the lazy chair next to her bed and watched her sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys! Thanks for sticking with me. Chapter 8 now. Wow! I can't believe I have this much stuff to write. This chapter is entirely Naley and about their complex relationship so I'm hoping you guys will like it tho I don't think this is my best one. Keep the reviews coming even if you don't like it so that I can do better. Thanks guys! Cheers! ;)**

* * *

Chapter 8

Haley rubbed her eyes sleepily. She looked around saw Nathan slumped in the chair next to her bed looking exhausted even in his sleep. She gingerly peeled the blanket off her and walked over to him.

"Hey." She said softly tugging his t-shirt.

Nathan woke up with her start. "Huh? Haley? You ok? What's wrong?" He said groggily and immediately opened his eyes when he saw her standing before him. "Oh hey. You're up. Feeling better?" He asked, his eyes full of concern.

"Yeah...thanks." She looked at him intently. "Have you been sleeping in that chair all night? God I'm so sorry. Your neck must be killing you."

"No I'm fine." He said and started to get up. "Oh no I'm not. Owww!!" He groaned as he massaged his neck. The truth was he couldn't really sleep last night, watching over her. The slightest stirring from her would wake him up in a flash and he would go over to her bed to soothe her. There was a point when she was talking in her sleep and whispered his name, bringing tears to his eyes. "Nathan don't leave me...don't leave us...please." He furrowed his eyebrows and thought of who she was referring to when she said "us" and shook it out of his head. It must've been Lucas and the rest. "Are you sure you're ok? Why don't you take a shower and I'll make you breakfast." He said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Nathan, I'm fine. You on the other hand don't look so good. Look you've done enough for me. Why don't you go home and get some sleep." She said, torn between wanting him to stay and hoping he would leave.

He shook his head stubbornly. "No chance Hales. Look I promised you I'd help with the papers and that's what's we're gonna do today. Now hit the shower." He said as he turned her around and smacked her ass.

"Owww!! You're worse than my mom! Lucky for me we didn't get married. I'd get marching orders from you every day." She said sarcastically, not noticing the sad look in his eyes.

"Yeah lucky for you." He said under his breath before saying loudly. "Seriously Hales. Will you go shower already? Your hair smells like feet."

Haley turned around and looked at him with her mouth open. "What? It does not." She said as she pulled bunch of her hair and gave it a sniff. "Ewww, you're right it does smell like feet. Ok I'm going." She said making him laugh as she started to get in the shower.

A few minutes later she walked out fully dressed with a towel in her hand drying her hair and stopped short in her tracks. "Oh my God Nathan. My kitchen. It's clean. You're the best!"

"I aim to please." He grinned and placed a plate of waffles and a bottle of syrup in front of her. "Hey did you know that you have a waffle maker collecting dust in your kitchen?"

She looked down at her plate and said, "Yeah it was our wedding gift from my mom's friend. I never use it." There was an awkward silence before she rubbed her hand and said, "Ok I'm digging in." She said before taking a bite. As soon as she put in her mouth she spat it out. "Nathan, that tastes like dirt! What did you put in there? Sand?"

Nathan turned and grabbed the plate. "What? Let me have a taste." He said and put a forkful in his mouth. He crinkled his nose in disgust and said, "Oh God I'm gonna throw up!" He spat it out in the sink and looked around. "Oh great. I put in the wrong ingredients." He looked at Haley apologetically. "I'm so sorry Hales."

Haley burst out laughing. "Maybe you should just stick to chicken noodle." Nathan joined her and laughed. "Come on let's go to Karen's and get something to eat before you poison us both." She said with a smile on her face.

Nathan nodded in agreement and said, "Hey do you mind if I take a shower here before we go?"

Haley looked at him and reluctantly said, "yeah I guess so. I'll wait out here." She said and started to clean up. As Nathan was leaving she turned to him and said, "Emm...Nathan, there are a couple of boxes in the guest bedroom with your stuff in them. I'm sure there are some of your clothes too. Don't worry they're all clean."

Nathan stood there not moving. She still kept all of his stuff. He started to say something, thought better of it and turned to walk. He found the boxes and bent down to open them. He took out his Raven's jersey and smiled, remembering the day he gave it to her. She wanted it so much and practically forced him to give it to her after they graduated. It became her sleeping wear claiming that it helped her sleep. Something else in the box caught his eyes and he reached to take it. It was a picture of both of them taken by Lucas at the beach. It was a beautiful day and they decided to have a picnic. In the picture she was laughing at him, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her face full of love. She looked so happy then. He couldn't believe that they were all here and a lump started to form in his throat. Haley's voice startled him and he quietly slipped it under his clothes.

"Nathan are you in the shower yet? I'm hungry!"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah I'll be out in the minute." He quickly grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts before going in the shower. He picked up Haley's rubber duckie and said, "you're one lucky bastard" before turning on the shower, letting the cold water hit him, wishing that it could erase all the pain. After a few minutes, he got out and got dressed before heading back to the kitchen.

"Ok let's go. Let me get my keys." He said and grabbed them from the counter. He went to Haley and helped her with her jacket before turning her around and looked deeply in her eyes. "Haley I'm sorry." She kept silent and tried to look away. He touched her face and lifted her chin before kissing her tenderly, "I'm so sorry Hales." He whispered against her mouth before catching her lips again in a deep kiss. She hesitated before she let her heart got the best of her and kissed him back with the same passion and intensity. She started to put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He wrapped her arms around her waist, loving the feel of her body leaning against his, her tongue lovingly caressing his. "Haley, come back to me." He breathed and just like that, she pulled away.

She took a step back, not daring to look at him. "I think we should go." And with that she grabbed her purse and walked out the door as Nathan stared at her.

* * *

They ate their breakfast in silence, all the spontaneity forgotten with just those four words. _Come back to me._ She loved him. God she did. She didn't deny it. She just wasn't ready to let him in yet. Maybe she would never be ready.

Nathan watched her closely. He knew that she was thinking about what he said this morning. He didn't regret saying those words. He loved the closeness that they shared the past couple of days. He never wanted to lose that feeling. The feeling of elation whenever she was near. He could spend the rest of his life never leaving her side. But he knew he had a long way to go before she would be ready.

"Hey can we stop by the record store? There's something I want to check out." He asked breaking the silence.

She looked up from her coffee and said quietly, "yeah sure. Ok I'm done." She said starting to get up and gathered her plate before heading towards the counter. "Thanks Karen. Hey would you mind me not helping you out today? I've got some stuff to do at home?" She asked.

Karen looked at her and smiled. "Of course. Are you feeling better? Nathan told me you had the flu." She asked taking her plate from her hand.

"Yeah I'm fine. Emmm...Nathan kinda stayed with me last night to make sure I was alright." She said, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Karen took her hand and said, "he's a good man Haley. And he loves you. Let it go Haley. Let the past go." She looked at her.

She looked up to her and said quietly trying to let what Karen said slide. "Hey I'm gonna go. Thanks again Karen." She said before heading back to her table and grabbed her purse. "You ready to go?" She asked Nathan.

He looked at her and said, "yeah sure. Come on" and followed her out.

* * *

"Ah found it!" Haley exclaimed triumphantly as she waved Lupe Fiasco's latest album in front of Nathan's face. They were at the record store browsing through the CD's. For some reason Haley knew exactly what he was looking for.

"How did you know I was looking for that?" Nathan looked at her incredulously.

She grinned. "I don't know. I guess you can call it instinct. I call it genius on my part."

"Gimme that." Nathan laughed along and grabbed it from her hands before scrutinizing it.

"I can't believe you still listen to that stuff." Haley said shaking her head and continued to browse. He could hear her humming a song, the awkwardness of this morning seemed to have been forgotten.

"What? It's cool stuff. Hey I never complained about your choice of sappy songs. Ow! Stop hitting me!" He exclaimed as she smacked his arm. "Come on let's go. You've got work to do remember?"

Haley groaned. "Oh God I totally forgot about that. Do I have to?" She whined. She was starting to have fun with him. Maybe this "friends" thing was not so bad after all, deliberately pretending that that morning didn't happen.

"Yes you do. You don't want Turner to hunt you down, do you? Come on I'll just pay for this and then we'll go ok?" He said and grabbed her hands.

* * *

"Who is this kid? What is he? 10? This is definitely a D Hales." He said and looked up at her from the essay he was reading.

"Gimme that!" She said and snatched the piece of paper from him. Nathan had practically forced her to mark the papers and even offered to help her reading them. "Hey you weren't so great at this in school either until I tutored you."

"And for that I'm eternally grateful O wise one." He bowed his head mockingly. Another smack landed his arm.

"You're an ass you know that?" Nathan laughed while rubbing his arm. "You know you're not helping at all. And you're right, these papers are terrible. Didn't I teach them anything?" She said in frustration and started to get up to get something to drink. "Juice?" She offered him and he took the glass of water and started sipping gratefully. "Nathan maybe you should get back home. You've been here since last night. You must be exhausted." She said noticing his tiredness.

Nathan looked up to her and said, "What? And miss out on reading crappy essays? No way!" He grinned. "I'm just gonna lie for a bit ok? Wake me up in half an hour?" He said, expecting her to protest and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't.

"Ok, I'll make us some lunch while you sleep." She said and turned to clear the table. "You know what? I'll just continue this tonight. I don't think my brain can take this anymore." She continued and noticing there was no answer from Nathan, turned around to look for him. She found him already sleeping in her bed. She smiled and walked over to him and covered him with a blanket. With a sigh, she walked back to the kitchen.

Half an hour later she finished cooking and made her way to Nathan, intending to wake him up. He looked so peaceful in his sleep that she didn't have the heart to wake him from his slumber. She sat up in her bed next to him and turned on the small tv, making sure the volume was turned down so as not to disturb him. _"I probably shouldn't be here or he's gonna get the wrong idea when he wakes up"_, she thought to herself. The truth was she liked being close to him, only she didn't want him to know. She started to think about the events of the past few days and glanced at Nathan. Her heart ached to tell him that she loved him too but she knew better. Before she knew it, she started to doze off.

* * *

Nathan woke up with a start only to find her sleeping with her head on his chest. He dared not move for fear of waking her. He sighed, wondering if she would ever give in. At times when he looked at her he could see glimpses of Haley that he once knew. The Haley that he once made happy. The Haley that wasn't afraid to tell him that she loved him more than anything else. But most of the time, he could see her withdrawing from him, making the gap between them larger than ever. His thought drifted back to this morning when they kissed. He actually saw fear in her eyes when he asked her to come back to him. He wondered why the thought of them getting back together scared her so much. Sure he hurt her but there was something else that she wasn't telling and he couldn't quite figure it out. He tentatively touched her face, listening to her soft steady breathing. He had always like watching her sleep. Sometimes when they were together he would wake up in the middle of the night just to watch her fast asleep in his arms.

She stirred and he immediately closed his eyes pretending to be asleep. He didn't want her to catch him watching her. She sat up and thought, _"Oh shoot! I must've fallen asleep. Thank God he's still asleep."_ She quickly smoothed down the bed and walked over to his side, pretending to look like she just came in the room. "Nathan...Nathan wake up." She said shaking him gently.

Nathan opened his eyes. "Hey, how long have I been out?" He asked her.

She glanced at the clock on the dresser and said, "about an hour. Are you hungry?" Just then she heard his stomach growling and she laughed. "Guess that answers my question. Come on, I made spaghetti." He was surprised when she offered her hand to help him up and he gladly took it.

"So what were you doing while I slept?" He asked, curious of what she would tell him.

She shrugged. "Oh nothing much, watched tv, did some reading," she said hoping her nervous reply would go unnoticed.

He eyed her carefully as she heated up the spaghetti she made. "Did you sleep well?" She asked while setting the table. Nathan automatically took out a couple of glasses from the cabinet to help her out.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I didn't know I was that tired."

"Hey maybe you should go home. I'm sure Deb's worried that you didn't come home last night."

"Nah, in case you haven't noticed I'm a big boy. Besides I'll just tell her I spent the night with you." He looked at her and winked mischievously. He could already see the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Wow that smells so good. I don't think you made enough Hales. I can finish all that by myself." He said as she put his plate in front of him. He took a spoonful and said with his mouth full. "Sorry Hales this is all mine." He joked.

"Nathan! Don't talk with your mouth full!" She admonished and laughed. She sat next to him and they chatted while they ate. "Have you spoken to Dan lately?" She asked referring to his father. Nathan's parents divorced right after they finished high school and as much as Nathan loved them, he was glad they did because he knew that they just weren't happy together.

"Yeah I stopped by his office a couple of days ago. He's doing ok." He said between mouthfuls. "How about you? Spoken to your parents lately?" He asked.

"Well they called me on Thursday to tell me that they were going to Vegas for the weekend. I swear to God sometimes I feel like I'm the parent and they're the kids." She laughed.

Nathan smiled, remembering her parents fondly. They had always treated him like their own son and he knew that he had hurt them by leaving too. "Do they know I'm back?" He asked.

"Yeah I told them and Karen speaks to them regularly so I'm guessing she's been filling them in on the latest Tree Hill gossip."

He continued eating in silence before saying, "Hales, about this morning..."

"Nathan, can we not talk about that?" She immediately said, and once again Nathan saw the fear in his eyes.

"Why are you so afraid to even talk about it? What are you not telling me Hales?" He continued to probe. She got up and walked over to the sink and leaned against it, her back to him. "Hales?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Nathan I told you I don't want to talk about it. I think you should go."

He walked up behind her and touched her shoulder gently. "Haley will you at least look at me?" He took her arm to make her face him and what he saw nearly broke his heart. Tears started streaming down her face as she wept softly. He pulled her into his arms and felt her body shake. "Haley...hey what's wrong? Baby please talk to me." He pleaded.

Haley continued to sob uncontrollably as she clung to him. It was as if a dam had finally opened and she couldn't stop. All the pain and all the heartache she had been feeling this past year came gushing out in rivers of tears. She wanted to tell him so much but she couldn't bring herself to. She pulled herself away from him and said as she backed away from him. "Nathan, you should go."

"Haley..." He said not wanting to leave, never wanting to leave.

"Nathan please. I just need to be alone right now." She pleaded as tears continued to fall. He hesitated before turning to the door resignedly. He took one last look at her before closing the door quietly behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi guys! Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter. Been busy with exams :( Anyway, some of you guys have been guessing what Haley is hiding but then again you guess might be wrong lol. Keep guessing anyway. I'm glad to know that this story is keeping you at the edge of your seats hahaha. Thank you so much for your feedback. So here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and omg we're nearing 100 reviews. Keep them coming guys. Cheers!**

* * *

Chapter 9

The following week went by too slowly for the both of them. Haley has been trying to avoid Nathan, even to the point of coming to school really early and going back later than usual for fear that he might show up at her door. She was too emotionally drained from the events of the previous week. She walked out of her classroom and started to make her way to the teachers' lounge to get some coffee when he heard Nathan and Lucas talking. She immediately stopped in her tracks, afraid to step out fearing that Nathan might see her.

"Hey Nate. You left your pills again at my house. Will you stop leaving them around? My mum will think I'm on drugs or something." She heard Lucas say to Nathan. The sound of Nathan's deep voice made her close her eyes briefly. God she missed that voice.

"Oh thanks Luke. Sorry. My head's somewhere else lately." Nathan said as he took the pills from Lucas's hand.

"Have you not been taking your pills lately? I see there's still a lot more in the bottle. And what about the other ones that you were talking about?"

"Yeah I may have missed a few but there's nothing to worry about Luke." He said trying to reassure Lucas seeing the worry in his eyes. "Hey, can I ask you something? Do you know if Haley's hiding something?"

"Why do you ask ?" Lucas asked him curiously. Behind the door, Haley's heart was pounding. _Please don't tell him Lucas. Please._

"I'm not sure. It's just that I feel like there's something she's not telling me but I can't quite figure it out." He said looking at Lucas expectantly. Lucas shook his head.

Lucas went silent before answering slowly. "I don't know man. She didn't tell me anything." He said before quickly changing to the subject. "Hey look I gotta run. Turner wants to see me about Quentin punching the Bear Creek Warrior dude last week. I'll catch you later. And take your pills Nate. All of them." He said before heading off toward the principle's office. A few seconds later, Haley heard Nathan leave and breathed a sigh of relief. But she kept replaying in her head what Lucas said about Nathan's pills. _What other pills was he talking about? _She didn't want to ask Lucas as it would seem like she cared and she definitely didn't want to ask Nathan. She peered behind the door and seeing that he was gone came out of the classroom.

As soon as she reached the lounge, she heard a deep throaty voice behind her. Sure enough when she turned around, there was Nathan standing behind her. "Hey, I haven't seen you around since...you know."

Haley didn't look at him and continued to make her way to the coffee machine. "Yeah I've been busy."

"Yeah you've been busy trying to run away from me. Haley, stop avoiding me." He said grabbing her arm.

She quickly removed his hand and said, "I'm not avoiding you Nathan. Like I said I've been busy."

Nathan sighed. "Fine. I just wanted to give you this. Happy Birthday Hales." He said before placing a small black box tied with a red ribbon in her hand and left. She watched him leave before staring at the box in her hand. She made her way to a quiet corner in lounge and slowly untied the ribbon and what she saw inside made her eyes water. It was an exact replica of the bracelet that Nathan once gave her when he pulled it out of a cereal box, only this time it was made of white gold. She saw a note in the box and in Nathan's handwriting she read "Always & Forever. Nathan."

_Flashback_

_They were at the dock with Haley trying to help Nathan with his math problem. He didn't have time to have breakfast at home so he brought along a box of cereal. Opening it, he took out a plastic colourful bracelet and looked at her before putting it around her wrist. "Here, don't say I never gave you anything."_

_End of flashback_

She couldn't believe he remembered the bracelet. She had been wearing it everyday since he gave it to her until the day he left her. Silent tears started to fall and she quickly wiped them away before anybody could see.

* * *

"Tutorgirl! Are you ready to party!!" Brooke skipped into Haley's house excitedly on Friday afternoon, dragging Peyton along with her. Peyton rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. Seeing that Haley was still not dressed, she exclaimed. "Haley! We're leaving in 10 minutes and you're still in those hideous jammies. Come on! Hurry up, Nathan's waiting outside. We're all riding with him."

"Emmm I really don't feel up to it. Can we do this another weekend?" She said, dreading the thought of having to face Nathan. She almost regretted saying it when she heard Peyton scream.

"What?? Haley you'd better change right now or so help me God I'm gonna drag you by your hair do you hear?! And pack your bag. We're spending the night at Nathan's beach house. Jake, Mouth and Skills are already there." She saw Haley hesitating and said warningly, "Don't play with me Haley."

"Ok fine. I'm going mom." Haley said as she dragged herself to her bedroom to change. Brooke looked at Peyton in surprise.

"Wow I sure wouldn't want to be in your hate list." She said and grinned.

"Hey what's taking so long. We gotta roll." Nathan's voice made them both jump. "Where's Haley?" He stopped short when he saw Haley appearing with one bag in her hand. He walked over to her and said, "Here let me get that." Their fingers brushed sending shocks down her spine.

"Thanks." She said before turning to Brooke and Peyton. "Alright I'm ready. Come on. Let's get this over with." She walked out the door linking arms with Peyton and Brooke.

* * *

She sat behind Nathan in the car looking out the window, glad of Brooke's endless chatter. She wasn't really listening to the conversation. Instead she was thinking of how she was going to survive the weekend. Every once in a while she would catch Nathan looking at her from the rear view mirror and everytime she would look away.

"Hey buddy. Are you alright? You seem quiet." Lucas said as he turned around from the passenger seat to look at Haley. She had insisted that she sat with the girls when Lucas asked her if she wanted to sit next to Nathan, although Nathan really asked her.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm a bit scared of what you guys had planned for this weekend." She laughed nervously through her lie and joined in the conversation with the girls.

Nathan looked at her through the rear view mirror and knew she was lying. He was pretty sure it wasn't the party plan that she was afraid of. He was determined to find a way to be alone with Haley this weekend since there was no way she could avoid him.

A few minutes later they reached Nathan's beach house. Sure enough Skills, Mouth and Jake were already there setting things up for the big party. "Hey Mouth. I haven't seen you in a while. Hey Skills." Haley smiled brightly as she gave her friends big hugs. Nathan would be lying if he didn't wish it was him Haley was putting her arms around.

"Hey Hales." He said making her turn around to face her. "Why don't you take my room. I can sleep on the couch." He offered her as he started to carry her bag to his room.

"Nathan you don't have to do that. I can share a room with the girls. It's fine." She started to protest.

Nathan smirked. "I don't think that's gonna happen. Lucas is sleeping with Brooke and Peyton with Jake and there are only three rooms so seriously, you can take my room. Unless you wanna sleep with Mouth and Skills in the living room." Nathan said mischievously.

Haley had to laugh. "Ok fine. I'll take your room. Thanks Nathan."

"Hey like I said, I aim to please." He said with a smile. "Come on it's getting late and we should be setting up the barbecue pit on the beach." Haley's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Nathan, did you bring your pills?" She asked.

He looked at her curiously. "Yeah, why?"

"Nothing, just make sure you take them." She said before she walked away. Nathan smiled to himself. _She cares._

* * *

"Skills! Put me down! Help!!" Haley squealed as Skills pretended to throw her in the sea.

He laughed and put her down. "Hey Haley you really think I was gonna toss you? Man, Nathan's gonna whip my ass." Nathan laughed watching the exchange. They were at the beach sitting around the bonfire, keeping themselves warm from the evening breeze. Nathan sat on a log, loving the sight of Haley happy eventhough he wasn't the cause of it. The trip to the beach did her good Nathan thought, seeing the colour returning to her cheeks and the smile on her face that he sorely missed. They had just had their barbecue and everybody was chilling out, enjoying each other's company.

Peyton watched him from the corner of her eyes, noticing the small smile creeping on his face as he watched the woman he loved. She untangled herself from Jake's arm. "Hey babe, where are you going?" Jake asked reluctant to let her go.

"I'm just gonna go and talk to Nathan. I'll be back." She said and planted a kiss on his lips before getting up to sit with her friend. "Hey Nate." She said as she gave him a nudge.

He returned the nudge and said, "Hey yourself. You know it's been a while since we've had a good talk. So tell me how does it feel like being engaged? The wedding's in two months?"

"Yeah you know, we're happy. You know the feeling." She said softly.

He gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, the best feeling in the world."

"What about you? When are you gonna be happy?" Peyton asked.

He smiled. "Sometimes I am happy. Coming back home. Seeing Haley around. I can't turn that off and I don't even want to. I dunno...it comes and goes."

Peyton put an arm around him comfortingly. "Nathan, it's great that you're trying. She will come around. It's just that she's been through so much since you left."

"I know. So...what happened when I left?" He asked hoping she could give him some answers.

Peyton grew silent. "Hey it's ok. You can tell me. I know it's probably gonna hurt but I have to know." He said encouraging her to talk.

"Well, you broke her heart. She cried for days and wouldn't see anybody until Karen came around to her place and practically dragged her out. Nothing that you didn't already expect." She said, looking at him. He looked down and sighed. "Hey, stop beating yourself up so much. I told you before I may not agree with the choice you made but I understand why you did what you did."

"Yeah..." He said as a lump had started to form in his throat. He looked around and cleared his throat before turning to Peyton. "You did a great job here Peyton."

"Hey I'm the man. Or woman." She grinned. "Now come on. Let's have some fun." She said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to join the others. Haley was holding her guitar and Mouth was trying to get her to sing a song."

"Come on Haley. What's a birthday without a song from you?" He pleaded knowing that she would give in.

Haley laughed and said, "Ok Big Mouth only because you asked." She started strumming her guitar and started singing.

_Happy Birthday to me_  
_Happy Birthday to me  
Happy Birthday to Haley James  
Happy Birthday to me_

Lucas started to throw sand at her feet. "Hey no fair! We could've sung that for you."

"Well since you didn't I've decided to sing it to myself." She said indignantly. "And where's my birthday present Lucas Scott?" She demanded.

"Ok I'm giving you the same thing I give you every year. The privilege of being my best friend. How's that?" He grinned.

Haley started hitting him. "You're an ass Luke! A cheap ass. But I love you." She laughed. A few minutes later she started yawning. _Wow I'm really getting old._

Nathan noticed her tiredness and walked up to her saying, "Hey looks like you're ready to hit the bed. Come on, I'll walk you back to the beach house. I think they're gonna be for a while. Especially Brooke." He grinned inclining his head to Brooke who looked like she was ready to take off her clothes at any time and go skinny dipping. "I think I'd rather walk you home than stay and see something that might make me go blind."

Haley laughed and accepted his offer. "Ok let me get my things." She said as she turned to Lucas. "Hey Luke I'm gonna head back. Is that alright?" Before Lucas could reply Brooke ran up to her.

"Haley you can't go yet! Lucas make her stay!"

"Oh God Brooke. I think I'm going deaf. Stop screaming in my ears." She said as she covered her ears. "Seriously I think I'm gonna go. Luke keep an eye on this girl. I don't want to have to organize a search party tomorrow." She joked before turning to Nathan. "Ok I'm ready to go."

They walked in silence, Haley carrying her flip flops in her hands, enjoying the feel of sand beneath her feet. She took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Nathan asked, breaking the silence.

Haley smiled. "Yeah I did. Thank you so much for letting us use the beach house." She looked at him sceptically. "Are you sure you don't mind me sleeping in your room?"

"Like I said, it's either that or sleeping with Skills and Mouth. Take your pick." He grinned. They continued walking in comfortable silence when Haley yelled.

"Oh shoot! I think I stepped on glass. Ow that hurts!" She said bending down to look at her foot.

"What? Come sit here. Let me have a look." Nathan said, his eyes full of concern as he peered at her foot in the dark. "It's just a tiny bit of glass. Here, it's gone. I'll get you a band aid at the house. Can you walk?" He asked. "Come on I'll carry you."

"Nathan you don't have to do that. I'm sure I can walk."

He looked at her and said patiently. "Haley can you not be stubborn for one minute? Just hop on my back and I'll carry you." He started to bend down so that she could climb on her back, relieved when she did.

"Nathan I'm gonna fall!" She squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm not gonna let you fall Hales. Now hang on." He said as stood up and started walking towards the beach house. Haley started leaning her head against her back taking in his scent.

"You ok back there?" He asked softly as heard her yawn.

"Uhuh..." She replied drowsily.

"Ok we're almost there. I'm gonna let you down now." He said as he gently lowered himself so Haley could get off. "See that wasn't so bad. I told I wasn't gonna let you fall."

She smiled shyly. "Thanks Nathan." She said as she hobbled and followed him to his bedroom to look for band aid.

"Here we go. Show me your foot." He said as he ripped off the wrapper. She sat on the bed and showed it to him.

"It's just a graze. I'm just gonna clean it up a bit ok. This is gonna sting a bit." He said as he gently cleaned the cut.

"Ow!" Haley yelled as she started to pull her foot back. Nathan grabbed her foot and laughed.

"Haley don't be such a baby. Come on I'm gonna put the band aid on. There you go, all done." He said and threw the wrapper in the bin. "So I notice you're not wearing the bracelet. Don't you like it?" Nathan asked as he looked at her squarely in her eyes.

"No I love it." She said as she took it out from her pocket. She had been carrying it everywhere since he gave it to her. She just wasn't sure whether she should wear it. "It's beautiful Nathan but you didn't have to."

He took it from her hand and started to put it around her wrist, securing it with the clasp. "I wanted to." He looked at her and said, "Don't say I never gave you anything. Always and forever Hales." He said softly.

"Nathan..."

He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Haley you don't have to say anything. But just to let you know, I'm keeping my promise. I'll be here whenever you're ready."

She stared at the bracelet before lifting her eyes to meet his. "I'm not ready Nathan. I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready." She said quietly before releasing her hands from his and turning her back on him. "Nathan I've been doing a lot of thinking about us. I'm not being fair to you. I can't just let you wait for me."

"Haley what are you saying?" He said, panic evident in his voice.

"I'm saying I think it's time we move on." She took a deep breath. "I think it's time we started seeing other people." Just saying those words filled her heart with an aching pain. She knew that the thought of Nathan seeing other people would hurt but if this was what it took to make them forget the pain of the past then she owed it to herself and to him to give it a try.

She saw him walking towards her and felt his hands on his shoulder. "Haley look at me." He said as he turned her around to face him and tilted her chin. "If this is what you need to do then I'm not gonna stop you. But I promise you I'm not going to do it. I'll still wait for you. Good night Hales." He said as he kissed her forehead tenderly before leaving her, not wanting her to see the tears that had started to well in his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys. Sorry for the wait. My exams are over so I hope I can update more regularly now. Wow poor Haley hahaha. Glad to know that she's getting reactions from you guys. So here's the next chapter. I was struggling a bit with the part with Skills in it . I hope you guys like it and as usual keep the reviews coming. I've really been enjoying reading every one of them. Cheers! ;)  
**

* * *

Chapter 10

Haley lied awake in Nathan's bed, tossing and turning for hours. She was exhausted but her brain seemed to be working overtime. She had been starting to think that dating other people might not be a good idea. She knew in her heart that nobody could replace Nathan and what they had together. With a sigh, she gingerly made her way through the quiet beach house to the kitchen for a glass of water. "Maybe there's some rat poison somewhere in the kitchen I can drink," she muttered to herself.

"Well well well. What have we got here? Haley James Scott sneaking around the house." Skills voice made her jump.

"Skills!" She whispered loudly. "You almost gave me a heart attack! And what's with the Scott?"

Skills smirked. "I'm just saying that's what I would've called you if you and Nate got hitched last year. Whatcha doing girl?"

"Well we didn't, so stop calling me that! Anyway, I couldn't sleep. What are you doing up so late?" She asked him.

"Couldn't sleep either. Mouth kept wanting to hug me in his sleep. Ugh." He shivered at the thought. Haley laughed. Skills always had that effect on her. "So Haley, I know it's none of my business but what's the deal with you and my dog Nate?"

Haley sat down sipping his water. "Nothing. We're friends."

Skills sat down next to her. "Come on girl. You and Nathan ain't friends. You ain't never been."

"It's complicated Skills." She said with a sigh.

Skills reached for her hand. "Look it's only complicated coz you're making it complicated. Now I'm sure everybody's been telling you to give him a chance and all that shit. Well, guess what, I'm gonna say the same thing and I'll be damned if I can't put some sense into that pretty head of yours."

"Oh God not you too?" She groaned in frustration. "Skills you know what I've been through..."

"Sure I know Haley." He interrupted. "Everybody knows. But Haley let me tell you something. You can deny it all you want but I ain't never seen you smile like you're smiling now, now that Nathan's back. Man if anybody can put a smile on your face like that, it's gotta be Nate. If you ask me, it looks like you have lost sight of things Hales. So tell me what's holding you back? I know you still love him."

"Yeah but I just need to listen to my heart this time, you know?" She answered.

He looked at her sceptically. "But you ain't really listening to what your heart tells you, are you? Anyway, come on it's getting late. You should go to bed. And Hales, whatever you do, you know I gotcha back. You may not be my bitch but I do love you." He said smiling at her.

"You know the way you talk scares me sometimes." She grinned. "Thanks Skills. I love you too." She said giving him a hug and started to walk to her room.

* * *

Brooke eyed the girl talking to Nathan at the counter in Karen's Cafe suspiciously. They had all just got back from the beach and stopped by to grab some lunch. "Hey who's the skank talking to Nathan?" She asked.

Everybody at the table turned around to look. "Hey I've seen her before. I think her name's Carrie or something like that. She's the Adam's nanny. She's pretty hot!" Jake offered the information.

"Jake! Stop checking her out!" Peyton pinched him on the arm making him almost jumping out of his chair.

"Geez Peyton that's gonna leave a mark." Jake exclaimed rubbing his arm furiously.

Haley didn't even look up from the book she was reading and said, "Serves you right Jake. You're getting married in two weeks and you're checking another girl out. You're lucky she didn't kill you."

"Emmm Hales I have to say she is pretty hot. Check her out." Brooke said giving her a nudge. Haley gave a sigh and reluctantly looked up to see Nathan and Carrie, heads bent down deep in conversation. Nathan said something which made her laugh, and as much as she hated it she was jealous. But then again, she was the one who said that they should see other people. They all watched as Carrie wrote her phone number on a piece of napkin and slipped it into his hands before giving him a wink and walked out the door. Nathan looked at the napkin and after a while tossed it in the garbage can. The guys immediately jumped up of their chairs upon seeing what he had just done and the girls laughed as Mouth scrambled to retrieve the number.

"What the hell Nate? She's fine." Skills said shaking his head.

"Nah, she's not my type." Nathan replied his face expressionless as he looked at Haley. She didn't dare look at him so returned her attention to the book. "Listen guys, I'm beat. I think I'm gonna head home first. Hey Jake can they hitch a ride with you?" He asked as he tapped Jake's shoulder. Lucas looked at him with concern. He thought Nathan did look a little pale.

"Hey you alright? You don't look so good. Come on I'll send you home. I can walk from there." He said, starting to get up before Nathan stopped him.

"No I'm fine. I just need some sleep. I'll see you guys." He said not bothering to wait for any response and started to walk towards the door. Haley eyed him curiously and got up to catch him.

"Nathan!" She called touching his arm slightly. He turned around to face her. "Hey, did you take your pills yesterday?" She asked.

He closed his eyes briefly and said, "Emm no I must have forgotten. Look I gotta go. I'll see you soon ok." He said and opened his car door.

Haley put a hand on the door and said, "I'll come with you. You can drop me off at my place."

"I'm fine. Don't worry." He said and started to get in and turned on the ignition.

"Nathan..."

"I said I'm fine Haley! What else do you want from me!" He yelled making Haley jump in shock. She took a step back, her face still looking stunned. He had never yelled at her before. Not like this. She turned around slowly and ran back into the cafe before Nathan could reach for her, his voice still ringing in her ears.

"Dammit!" He screamed in the car. He didn't know why he yelled at her. He knew that she really cared for him and what he did was unfair. He took a look inside the cafe, his eyes searching for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Nathan didn't see her the following day in school. He was stricken with guilt for yelling at her yesterday. Countless times he reached for the phone to call her to apologize but he was afraid that she might hang up on him. Not that he could really blame her. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ The truth was he knew exactly what was wrong with him. He hadn't been taking his medication lately and he knew that could cause him to have mood swings.

"Hey Nate! Where have you been? Everybody's waiting for you in the gym." Lucas called out to him when he saw him wandering in the hallway. School was over and Lucas thought of having an extra practice session for the team.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'll be there in a minute. Hey have you seen Haley today?" He asked Lucas.

"Yeah I saw her this morning but she left early. Brooke said something about her going on a date tonight." Lucas said guiltily.

Nathan looked surprised. "She what?"

"Sorry man." He said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. Nathan couldn't believe what he had just heard. He didn't think that she really meant what she said. He quickly recovered from the shock and looked at Lucas.

"Yeah well it was something she needed to do and I can't really stop her, can I?" He said. "Come on let's go to the gym." The whole time the team was practising his mind drifted to Haley. "Ow!! Watch it!" He yelled as a ball hit him right in his face. Lucas ran up to him and couldn't help but laugh watching him rub his face.

"See that's why you gotta keep your eyes on the ball. Hey didn't you use to be a basketball hotshot here? You should know that man." His glee was cut short when he noticed that Nathan wasn't laughing along with him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." He said guiltily.

"No it's ok. My bad. My head's somewhere else." He tried to concentrate on the practice and said to Lucas. "The team's looking good Luke. I think we may have a chance of winning the championship this year." The team really looked amazing and they've been on a winning streak. He had no doubt that with Lucas being the head coach and him and Skills helping him out, the championship trophy could be theirs this year.

Lucas patted him on the back and smiled as he said, "Couldn't have done it without you little brother. Hey listen, we're almost done here. Why don't you head home and get some rest? We'll just continue tomorrow. I don't want to tire the guys out anyway."

Nathan stared into space. He didn't really feel like being alone tonight. He knew that he'd think about Haley on her date and the thought of it drove him crazy. He turned to Lucas. "Do you mind if I hang out with you tonight? I mean you don't have any plans or anything right?"

"Yeah sure. Brooke's busy with her boutique. We can grab dinner somewhere. I'll call Jake and ask him if he wants to tag along. Guys night out. What do you say?" He asked, knowing that his brother needed the distraction. It really pained him to see the two of the people he loved most in the world and clearly belonged together growing further and further apart. He had really thought that with Nathan coming back, he and Haley could rebuild their relationship although he admitted that things were not looking so good for neither of them.

"Sounds good. It'll be just like old times." Nathan managed to muster a smile. He knew that he hadn't really spent enough time with his brother and his best friend since he came back but with all the things that had been happening with Haley, it didn't really leave him with much time. "How about Skills? Do you think he wants to join us?" He asked inclining his head towards Skills.

Lucas shook his head. "Nah I don't think so. I think he's got a date with the Carrie girl you met at my mom's cafe. That guy really doesn't waste any time."

"Wait a minute. I thought Mouth had her number?" Nathan asked looking confused.

"Yeah he did until Skills stole it from him when he wasn't looking." Lucas said laughing.

Nathan snickered. "Unbelievable. Ok come on. Let's wrap this thing up. I'm hungry."

* * *

Haley couldn't believe she was really going to do this tonight. She hadn't been on a date since Nathan. In fact Nathan was the only man she had ever gone on dates to. She half-heartedly put on her make-up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had agreed to go out with Micheal, a teacher from school after being asked several times. She knew that everybody was telling her to give Nathan a chance and she really wanted to but she hadn't reached the point in time where she could. She thought about the night at the beach house and how Nathan had readily agreed that she started seeing other people. She had expected Nathan to put up a bit of resistance. _Maybe I've pushed him too far._ She didn't have the chance to dwell on it longer when she heard the knock on her door. _Oh crap he's here. Ok here goes nothing. _She forced herself to put a smile on her face as she ran to open the door.

"Hi Micheal. Wow you're on time." She said looking at the handsome man at her door. He handed her a bouquet of red roses which she took and tried to hide her disdain. She hated red roses. "Oh these are beautiful," she lied. "I'll just put this in vase. Give me a minute and I'll be right out."

He took her to a fancy restaurant in town and although Micheal had been a perfect gentleman, all through dinner she had to keep herself from yawning. Sure he was good looking but he bored her. Plus he wasn't Nathan. She pretended to be interested in what he was saying while her mind wandered. She thought about yesterday when Nathan had yelled at her. She still couldn't believe that he had really done that. And what hurt her more was that he didn't even call her to apologize.

"Haley, would you like dessert?" Micheal asked, snapping her back to reality. He was looking at her curiously. "Are you alright? You seem quiet." He was a transfer teacher and was new in Tree Hill so he didn't really knew about her past.

"Sorry I was thinking about how good the food is here tonight," she said as she forced a smile and sipped her wine. "I don't think I'm gonna have dessert tonight. I'm quite full, thank you." It was getting late and the truth was she couldn't wait for the night to be over and she could go home and put this night behind her. She was starting to feel a bit tipsy tonight from all the wine. She hadn't drank this much for a long time.

"Ok I'll just get the bill ok?" Micheal said and signaled for the waiter. The drive home was uneventful too as they tried to make small talks. Haley breathed a sigh of relief when his car pulled into her driveway.

He started to walk her to the door and before she knew it, she asked him without thinking, "Do you want to come in for coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee would be nice." Micheal answered smiling.

_Oh God what am I doing? I'm such an idiot! _She berated herself as she reluctantly brewed coffee. She tapped her fingers on her kitchen counter and turned to face Micheal guiltily. "You know what? I'm kind of tired. Would you mind taking a rain cheque?"

He looked disappointed but nodded anyway. "Yeah sure. Ok I'm gonna go," he said as he started to walk to the door.

Haley followed him and opened the door for him. "Thank you for tonight. I had a good time."

Micheal smiled and gave her a peck on her cheek. "I had a good time too. Maybe we can do this again," he said looking at her hopefully.

"Maybe." She answered with a small smile. "Goodnight." She closed her door and breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over to her wine cabinet and took out a bottle. She needed another drink after the gruelling night she went through. She was on her third glass and was feeling slightly drunk when she heard a knock on her door. She walked unsteadily and managed to get to the door without stumbling. "Oh it's you," she said, still feeling angry about yesterday's incident.

"Can I come in? And are you drunk?" He asked noticing the glass wine in her hand. He had come by after having dinner with Lucas and Jake, intending to apologize to Haley for yesterday.

She grudgingly let him in and looked at him saying, "a bit."

He looked at her nervously and asked, "Lucas said you went on a date tonight. So how was it?"

"It was ok but what do you care?" She asked and looked at him angrily.

"Haley that's not fair. You know I do care. And you were the one who suggested it in the first place!" He retorted, his voice raising slightly.

"Oh yeah yell at me again Nathan. What, yesterday wasn't enough? You came back for more?"

Nathan took a deep breath. He knew she was drunk and he couldn't really blame her for being angry at him. "Haley I'm really sorry about yesterday. I never meant to yell at you."

"That's great Nathan. You're sorry. I'm getting sick of hearing you say you're sorry. You're sorry for leaving me on our wedding day. You're sorry for breaking my heart. You're sorry for making last year the worst year of my life. Why don't you just leave Nathan and take all your 'sorries' with you?" She said slurring on her words.

"Haley I think you've had enough of that wine." He said as he took the half empty glass from her hand but she wasn't done.

"Why did you come back Nathan? To see how broken I was? To find out if I would come running back into your arms? You have no idea what I went through last year!" She started yelling at him, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Then why don't you tell me Haley!" He said, matching her anger.

"Fine! You want to know so much? I'll tell you." She said as tears started forming in her eyes. "I almost died when you left me Nathan. On our wedding day I wanted to tell you that I was pregnant. We were going to have a baby Nathan. I thought me telling you that I was carrying your baby would be the perfect wedding gift for you."

Nathan felt his head spin from the shock and felt bile rising in his throat. He couldn't believe his ears when he heard it. "You're lying. There's no baby." He stammered.

"I lost our baby! I miscarried a few days after you left. The doctor said it was because of the stress." She looked at him with such anger in her eyes which he had never seen before. "You killed our baby!" She said and sobbed as she crumbled to the floor. A second later there was a sound of glass breaking. Nathan had taken the wine glass from the table and thrown it at the wall.

"Stop it! Oh God oh God. What have I done?" He covered his ears and started shaking his head in disbelief. But Lucas didn't tell him anything about Haley being pregnant. He looked at her, a picture of a broken woman. He went to her and pulled her into his arms. "Oh God Haley I'm so sorry." He said as tears started falling down his face.

"Get away from me! I hate you!" She screamed as she pushed him away but he wouldn't let her go. "You killed our baby...you killed our baby..." She kept saying as she sobbed. "I think I'm gonna be sick." She said as she ran to the bathroom and started to throw up. She felt Nathan's hand rubbing her back soothingly and turned to face him tears still streaming down her beautiful face in a steady flow. "How could you do that to me Nathan?"

He pulled her into her arms again and just let her cry. For once he didn't know what to say to her as his own grief overtook him. "Sshhh..." He tried to soothe her as he let her cry. A few seconds later he could feel her body grow heavy as she fell asleep exhausted. Nathan carried her into her bedroom and laid her down on her bed as he started changing his clothes, his fingers trembling. Only after he had pulled the blanket over her did he let himself break down. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He sobbed, weeping for their baby that he lost, for the life with Haley that he lost.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. So it looks like most of you guessed it right lol. Thank you for all your kind reviews. They really make me writing this story so much enjoyable. I know you guys are anticipating this next chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it. It's a bit longer than usual and I'm hoping you won't be too bored reading it. Cheers!  
**

* * *

Chapter 11

It was already dawn and sleep still wouldn't come to Nathan. He watched Haley sleep all night, her words still ringing in his ears. Just thinking about it made him feel sick all over again. They had a baby. His baby. Fresh tears started welling in his eyes. This had been his routine all through the night. He couldn't turn off the fact that their baby had died, and everytime he thought about it, the tears would start falling. Watching Haley sleep he couldn't believe that he had caused her so much pain. At that point, he didn't know if he could ever find a way back to her anymore. He got up from his chair slowly, not wanting to wake her up and made his way to the door, closing it softly behind him.

* * *

Nathan found Lucas in the gym shooting hoops with Jake. His walked towards him, his pace increasing with each step he took. As soon as he got near Lucas, he grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall before landing a punch straight at his jaw. "You son of a bitch!" He screamed as he readied himself to hit him again. Before he could do it, he felt Jake pulling him back but not without a struggle.

"What the hell Nate?" Lucas yelled, wiping blood from his mouth. "Are you crazy?"

"You son of a bitch!" Nathan yelled again. "All the time we were in touch since I was gone, not one word about Haley being pregnant!" He started to take a lunge at Lucas again, this time managing to punch him in the stomach making Lucas groan in pain.

Jake quickly pulled him away again. "Nathan, stop it. Calm down Nate."

"Don't tell me to calm down Jake! I can't believe you kept that away from me Luke. How could you?" Nathan asked, looking at Lucas in disbelief. Lucas struggled to get up, his hand still clutching his stomach.

"Nate, your mom told us not tell you. I'm so sorry." Lucas said, bracing himself for another attack.

"My mom? Unbelievable." He walked to the wall and punched it in frustration.

"Nathan!" Jake yelled running up to him. "You're bleeding man. Let me get a bandage." He said and ran to get the first aid kit.

Nathan slumped down against the wall and covered his face with his hands. "She said I killed our baby Lucas. She said I killed our baby." He sobbed.

Lucas went to him and put his arm around his shoulders. "Come on. There's gonna people coming in here in a minute. Let's get you out of here." He said and pulled Nathan up. "Hey Jake, we'll be in my office!" He yelled over his shoulder so Jake could hear him.

* * *

Lucas managed to get Nathan to his office without anybody seeing them. As soon as he sat Nathan down in the chair across his table, his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. "Yeah ok I will. I'll see you later," he said before hanging up the phone. He looked at Nathan and said, "I'm gonna go see Turner for a while. I'll be right back."

Nathan nodded. "You might want to clean up your face first," he said indicating the blood at the corner of his mouth. Lucas quickly wiped it off before walking out the door.

When he came back to his room, he was glad to find that Nathan was still there. "It was Haley wasn't it? She called you justnow didn't she?" Nathan asked.

Lucas reluctantly answered, "yeah. She won't be coming in today. She said she wasn't feeling very well." He walked over to Nathan and asked, "what happened Nathan?"

Nathan looked up to him, feeling the tears starting to form again. "I went to her house yesterday and she was drunk. We argued and she said...Oh God..." He couldn't continue as he felt the already familiar dull aching pain in his heart. "She said she almost died Luke. What did she mean?" He looked at Lucas questioningly.

"Nathan, don't do this to yourself." Lucas said, hating to see his brother like this.

"Just answer me dammit! What did she mean?" Nathan yelled in anger.

Lucas sighed and went to his door to lock it and pulled the blinds so nobody could see them. "After the wedding, I sent Haley home. She said she wanted to be alone..." he started saying.

_Flashback_

_"Haley I don't want to leave you alone like this." Lucas said looking at his friend still in her wedding dress, her face wet with tears. She looked at him and said, her face expressionless._

_"Please Lucas. I just want to be alone right now. Please." She begged. _

_Lucas hesitated before saying, "ok. Your mom will be right over as soon as she gets something for dinner from the cafe ok?" He pulled her into his arms. "It's gonna be ok Hales." He said before leaving her. _

_Haley looked around her house, unable to believe it when Lucas told her that Nathan had left. He said that he'd always love her. Always and forever. She felt the room spin and blacked out._

_End of flashback_

"Me and her mom came by an hour later and we found her on the floor. There was blood everywhere. By the time we got to the hospital the doctor told us that she had lost her baby. We didn't even know she was pregnant." Lucas stopped and looked at his brother before continuing, "she...she lost a lot of blood and was unconscious for a couple of days. It was like she never wanted to wake up."

Nathan stared into space as he listened to Lucas. "This is all my fault Luke. I did kill our baby," he said, a lump in his throat already forming. "She said she hates me. And I don't blame her."

Lucas looked at him feeling helpless. He wished there was something he could say to make this right, but he knew he couldn't. "You have to stop blaming yourself Nate. No good will come out of this if you keep on doing this."

"Tell me how Lucas. How can I not blame myself. I abandoned her. I should have died from the cancer. I shouldn't have survived."

"Nathan stop it. That's crazy talk. There's a reason why you survived. You fought to beat the cancer so that you could come back and fix things." Lucas said, trying to reason with him. "I'm partly to blame too Nathan. I shouldn't have left her."

Nathan got up from his chair looking more distraught than ever. "I gotta go. Sorry I hit you." He said and unlocked the door before letting himself out.

* * *

"Mom!" Nathan called out as soon as he entered his house. He heard the sound from the tv and headed to the living room to find Deb there. "Mom why did you tell Lucas not to tell me about Haley and the baby?" Deb looked stunned. "Mom, why didn't you tell me?"

She regained her composure and took his hand. "Sit with me Nathan," she said as she led him to sit next to her. "When I came to see you the next day you were in the hospital preparing for your surgery. What good would it do if you knew? There was nothing you could do. There was nothing anyone could do."

"I don't know what to do mom." He said as he cried in his mother's arms, just like he used to do when he was a kid. "I love her so much. I thought there was a chance that I could get her back but now...she hates me mom."

Deb looked at his son, broken from the pain and felt her eyes water. "No she doesn't Nathan. She was hurt. She's still hurting but the pain will go away. I promise it will go away."

"No mom, I don't think it ever will."

* * *

Brooke looked up and saw Nathan walking into Karen's Cafe. The gang was there talking about what happened between Haley and Nathan. "Hey Nathan," she greeted softly. "I heard what happened. How are you?" She looked at him with concern. He looked like he hadn't been sleeping.

"How do you think I am Brooke? I found out that Haley miscarried after I left her. How do you think I feel right now?" Nathan said silencing Brooke. "Look can we talk about something else please?" He pleaded, needing something to distract him.

"Yeah sure," Jake said. "The wedding's next weekend and Nathan, I'd love it if you could be my best man. Will you?" He asked.

Nathan was stunned. "Are you serious? Yeah I'd love to. Are you sure though? I've got a lot of things on my mind right now. Why didn't you ask Lucas?"

"I thought about that but he's easily distracted by Brooke." Jake laughed looking at Lucas.

"Thanks a lot man." Lucas said giving his friend the evil eye.

Nathan turned to Peyton and asked, "so Peyton, who's the bridesmaid?"

Peyton looked guiltily at him. "Haley. Is that alright with you?"

Nathan turned silent. Just hearing her name brought back the aching pain in his heart. He managed to put up a smile and said, "yeah I guess." While they were talking about the wedding plans, his mind wondered back to Haley, wondering how she was doing after last night. He wanted to see her so badly but knew he shouldn't. He had done enough damage.

"Hey buddy. Are you alright?" he heard Peyton ask. He didn't notice that the rest had gone leaving him and Peyton.

"Yeah sorry. Where did everybody go?" He looked around in confusion.

"Everybody's got something to do. And I didn't want to leave you alone. Looks like it's just you and me Nate." Nathan kept silent. "Hey do you wanna go for a walk? I think the fresh air's gonna do you good." Nathan agreed and they decided to go to the dock.

"How could I let it get to this Peyton?" Nathan asked quietly after a long bout of silence. He took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air.

Peyton gave him a look of understanding, and reached for his hand, squeezing it and giving him a smile. "You're gonna be ok Nate," she whispered.

"How do you know Peyton? You should have seen her yesterday. She looked so broken and I couldn't do anything." He gave her a small smile through his tears. "You know, she used to say I could fix anything. But I can't fix this Peyton. Where do I go from here?"

Peyton watched him cry and her own tears started to fall. She had never seen him like this. He had always been strong and she wasn't even surprised that he beat the cancer. But seeing him like this broke her heart. "Well, you work things out with her. I know it hurts Nathan but you have to deal with it. You might not be here a year ago but you're here now. You need to be here for her this time. She needs you Nathan. It's not just her loss. It's your loss too. And if you need anything, I'm here for you. We all are."

"How can you have so much faith in me when I don't have faith in myself?" he asked brokenly.

"Because I know you. And I know Haley. She's stubborn and you're afraid that you might end up hurting her again. But Nathan, let me tell you something, you guys have the strongest bond I've ever seen in two people in love. You make us believe that there is such a thing as true love. What's happened in the past can't be changed. But you can change the future. I know you can't get past something like this that easily but if I know anybody who can, it's you guys. Have faith Nathan." She said trying to reassure him.

Nathan nodded and wiped the tears from his face. "Thanks Peyton." He looked at her and gave her a watery smile. "Since when did you become so wise all of a sudden?"

Peyton grinned. "Since we broke up. Now get lost. I know you've got someone to see," she said and got up to give him a hug. He returned her hug before walking away.

* * *

Haley woke up that morning feeling like her head was going to explode. She let out a little groan and let her head sink back on her pillows. She couldn't remember much about what happened last night. The last thing she remembered was being drunk and seeing Nathan at her door. She reached for her cell phone and called Lucas to let him know that she was not feeling well and to let Principal Turner know. She spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the house aimlessly, trying to recall what happened last night. She was about to make dinner when she heard the knock on the door. Opening it, she found a weary looking Nathan.

"Wow this sure feels like deja vu. Come on in." She said and let him in. Seeing her made Nathan think about the events of last night and he was surprised that she didn't tell him to go to hell.

"Hey Hales. I was just wondering how you were doing," he said tentatively, not knowing what her reaction was going to be like.

Haley ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Well my head feels like somebody pounding it with bricks. Guess I shouldn't have drank that whole bottle of wine, huh? But other than that, I'm fine. What happened last night by the way?"

Nathan looked at her face, searching for telltale signs. "You don't remember?"

"Well I think that's what alcohol does to you," she said. She noticed the stricken look on his face. "Hey are you alright?" she asked.

"You really don't remember what happened last night, do you?" he asked.

She shook her head and sat down on the couch. "No, not really. I remember being drunk and yelling at you about something. But the rest were all a little bit fuzzy."

Nathan sat down next to her. He knew he should tell her that he knew about the baby but he didn't know where to start. He took her hands in his and with a deep breath said, "Hales, when you were drunk you mentioned that you were pregnant and that you miscarried when I left." She looked at him bewildered and started to pull her hands away but he wouldn't let her. Suddenly the memory of last night came flooding back in.

"Oh God. I remember now." She stammered as she started to get up.

Nathan put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes already glistening with tears. "I'm sorry Hales. I should have been there for you but I wasn't. I understand if you hate me but I just need you to know that I'm so sorry."

She kept silent and looked down. A few seconds later she lifted her head revealing the tears that were now flowing freely down her cheeks. "I don't hate you Nathan. And I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault. I just wasn't strong enough."

"Haley stop it. It was my fault Hales. I should not have left," he said brokenly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it mattered anymore Nathan. What good would it be if I told you? It would only hurt us both."

Nathan pulled her into his arms and let her cry and she clung on to him as if her life depended on it. "Tell me about it Hales. I need to know. Please," he pleaded, whispering into her hair.

She sat down on the couch, pulling him with her. Wiping the tears from her face she looked at him. "I umm...I found out I was pregnant a week before the wedding. I didn't want to tell you yet because I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew that you would be thrilled when I told you so I thought I would wait until after we got married as my wedding gift to you." Nathan listened as a river of tears flowed down his face. "Lucas sent me home that day and I told him that I wanted to be alone, to think things through. I was already feeling a bit sick at that time. The next thing I knew I was at the hospital and the doctor told me that I had miscarried. I'm sorry Nathan, I'm sorry I lost the baby. It was all my fault." She started sobbing uncontrollably.

Nathan put his hand on his mouth and closed his eyes drawing her near to him. "Sshhh...it wasn't your fault Haley."

She looked up to him and said, "I kept waiting for you to come back but when you did it scared me. I was scared because my feelings for you haven't changed. I was scared that you would hurt me again. I was scared that if we got back together, then it would happen again. I was scared of losing another baby. I couldn't go through that anymore. I still love you Nathan. I've never stopped and..."

Before she knew it she felt his lips crushing hers in a searing kiss. "God Hales you know how long I've waited to hear you say those words? Say it again Haley," he whispered before kissing her again. "Say it again," he pleaded.

She kissed him with the same passion, their tears mingling. "I love you Nathan. I love you," she breathed. He couldn't contain it any longer and kissed her hungrily, his tongue gently massaging her lips seeking for entrance and groaned when she parted her lips.

"God Hales, what are you doing to me?" His voice was ragged as he continued kissing her, their lips burning as they locked both not wanting to let it end. He lifted her mouth reluctantly from hers and gently wiped the tears. "I love you Haley. I love you so much," he said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "I never meant to hurt you."

Haley touched his face gently. "I know. I know that now." She looked at him shyly and said, "I want you Nathan."

Nathan smiled before pulling her again and kissed her tenderly, loving the feel of her lips, her tongue gently caressing his. He lifted her up from the couch and carried her to the bedroom, putting her down gently beside the bed. His eyes never left her as he gently pulled her top over her head, revealing her black lacy bra. His breath caught in his throat as he reveled in her beauty. He started caressing the sides of her breasts eliciting a soft moan from her. He pulled her to him and she could already feel his hardness as he kissed her again. "I want you too Hales..." He felt like his body was on fire, her every touch burning his skin.

He gently guided her towards the bed and pulled his t-shirt over his head. She touched his skin gently, tracing his nipple, loving the feel of his body. He felt like he was about to explode, gasping from her touch. She had always had this effect on him. He wanted to make her feel the same way he was feeling now. He looked deeply into her eyes and gently flicked his tongue on her lips as he slowly removed her jeans, leaving only her underwear.

She started to writhe beneath him, her fingers frantically reaching for the button on his jeans and unzipped it. He quickly removed his jeans and carelessly threw them on the floor. She moaned as she felt his naked skin on her. "Nathan please..." she begged. He smiled and shook her head. "Not yet Hales." Haley groaned as she willingly let him ravage her body with gentle kisses. He gently removed her bra and took a sharp intake of breath as he took them both in his hands, kissing her hardened nipples one at a time. "Oh God Nathan..." she gasped, pleasure after pleasure overtook her. He lifted his lips from her breasts and started to make his way down, leaving a trail of kisses along the way stopping short just at the top of her underwear and gently pulled it off her legs. He gently caressed her legs, making her skin burn at his every touch. He started to part her legs as his fingers continued their journey between her thighs, already feeling her wetness making him groan. A loud moan escaped her lips as he started stroking her.

Her hands made their way to the waistband of his boxers, making him want her more as she removed them. He looked into her eyes, filled with passion and love and he wondered, thinking it impossible to be this in love. He felt her tremble beneath him as she arched her back, inviting him to enter. He buried himself in her, interlacing their fingers together, making them both groan at the contact. They started to move together as she gave herself to him, meeting his every thrust. He closed his eyes as he held back, putting her pleasure before his. Their pace grew frantic as she felt herself falling closer and closer to the edge, finally exploding in ecstasy, screaming out his name. He slowed down his movement, wanting to prolong her pleasure. She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion, suddenly understanding what he was doing. She touched his face and said softly, "Nathan, you know what I love most about making love to you? It's the feeling you gave me everytime we come together, feeling yourself let go inside of me..." she didn't manage to finish her sentence as Nathan looked into her eyes and groaned, "God Hales. Oh my God! I love you!" He screamed as he finally found release, collapsing on top of her making sure he didn't crush her small body.

He gently rolled off her, pulling her too him, listening to her heartbeat, feeling his own drumming against his chest. He slowly opened his eyes as his dark green eyes bore into hers. Her eyes were glistening with fresh tears and he gently wiped them away. "Hey, why the tears?" he whispered softly.

She shook her head and said brokenly, "I've missed you. I've missed you so much Nathan. Don't leave me again."

"Sssshhh...I'm right here Hales. I'm right here." He cradled her in his arms and whispered into her hair, rocking her to sleep as exhaustion overtook them both.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. I just finished my exams so I'm taking some well deserved rest. I'm really glad you liked the last chapter. I thought it was about time Naley had some love scenes. And I'm glad you guys like NP friendship. some of you really liked it the last time when they were at the beach so I thought we should have another one. So here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as the last one. It's not as intense as the previous ones so I hope you'll like it. And keep the reviews coming. Cheers!**

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Chapter 12

Nathan woke up with a start, relieved when he found her still sound asleep. He was afraid that she would leave again, just like the last time they spent the night together. He smiled as he watched her sleep. She must be exhausted after last night. They had made love all through the night, stopping only to catch some sleep in between. It was like they were making up for lost times, each time their lovemaking was slow as they rediscovered each other. He marveled at the fact that they could never get enough of each other. He kissed her head softly and felt her stir. "Morning sleepyhead," he said smiling.

Haley blinked a few times, trying to accustom her eyes to the light. "What are you doing here?" she asked, looking at him confused. A few seconds later she laughed when she saw his smile fade.

"That's so not funny Haley. Were you trying to mess with me? Come here you!" Nathan pulled her into his arms and pinned her down while tickling her, making her squeal. "Are you sorry now?"

"Ahhh Nathan stop! Ok ok I'm sorry! You should have seen your face." She smiled as she looked at him and gave him a kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

Nathan grinned. "Yeah considering we only managed to sleep for only a couple of hours." He saw a blush slowly creeping on her face, loving the fact that he had that effect on her. "I was afraid that you would leave again."

She touched his face gently and said, "I love you Nathan."

"God I love hearing you say that," he said as he looked into her eyes and kissed her tenderly. "I love you too." His face suddenly grew serious. "So what does this mean Hales?"

"It means that we're trying to work things out," she slowly said. "Nathan, there's been too much hurt and pain between us and I don't think that's gonna go away in just one night. I'd like it if we take things slow this time. Are you ok with that?" She asked biting her lips waiting for his response. When he didn't she continued, "hey it doesn't mean that I don't love you. That feeling will never change but I think we need time to learn to trust each other again and to trust ourselves."

"I know," he said softly. "If that's what you want I'm ok with that."

"Good. Now I need to get ready to go to school. You need to get ready too." She started to get up to get ready when Nathan pulled her down again.

"No no no no...don't go. Call Turner and tell him you're still not feeling so good. Stay with me today." Nathan pleaded. It had been a long time since he was truly happy and he didn't want that to end. Haley started to protest when suddenly he sat up as he tried to listen to something.

Haley looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Nathan?"

"Ssshhhh...I hear something. Wait here," he said and grabbed a vase on the dresser as he slowly headed towards the door. He slowly turned the knob and readied himself to attack the intruder.

"Whoa! What's with the vase? And why are you shirtless?"

Nathan lowered the vase. "Dammit Lucas! You almost gave me a heart attack! Why were you sneaking around like that?"

"I was worried about Haley so I thought I'd stop by. Did you sleep here? Did you and Haley?" Lucas asked curiosity etched on his face. Just then Haley came up behind Nathan dressed in her robe. "Oh God I so didn't need to know that my brother had sex with my best friend," he said making a disgusted face. "This is gonna scar me for life."

Haley came up to him and smacked him. "Oh come on. You knew that last year."

"Yeah but I never walked in on you!" He started protesting before looking at the both of them. "So does this mean you guys are good?"

Nathan put an arm around Haley pulling her close. "It means we're trying to work things out." He smiled as he looked at her and gave her a kiss.

"Oh my God! Get a room! I forgot that you guys can't get your hands off each other."

"Well we were in a room until you came along and interrupted our..."

"Oh God my ears!! Geez Hales! Look, obviously you're fine. What the hell you're more than fine, so I'm gonna go. I'll see you guys in school later." He started to mumble something under his breath before letting himself out. As soon as he did Nathan and Haley burst out laughing.

"That was fun," Nathan said. "Really nice Hales. Did you see the look on his face?"

Haley giggled and pulled him towards her bedroom. "Come on. Now we really have to go. I'm gonna go shower. Do you wanna join me?" she asked mischievously.

Nathan smiled, happiness shining in his eyes. "Lead the way Hales."

* * *

"Yo Nate will you wipe that grin on your face already? Luke told me about this morning dog. Nice work man." Skills as he playfully punched him on his farm and winked mischievously. They were at the gym making a final preparation for a game that week.

Nathan laughed. "Hey can't a guy be happy for one minute? You bugged when I was unhappy and now you're bugging me when I'm happy. Gimme a break man."

"Oh yeah you can be happy but you're making me miserable. You know that Carrie girl I stole the number from Mouth? Damn, there's something about her that gives me the creeps. How'd you manage to get so lucky with girls man?"

"Nah, I'm just lucky with one girl. Hey listen, I want to thank you for looking after my girl. You've been a great friend Skills," Nathan said giving him a look of gratitude.

"No need to thank me dog. She took care of herself just fine. Now come on, are we gonna shoot some hoops or are we gonna talk about my pathetic girl-less life?"

Just then Lucas came over to join them. "Funny, the last time I checked I didn't hire you two girls to just sit and gossip." He gave his brother a grin. "So what's this about trying to work things out deal? What is there left to work out?"

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, she wants to take things slow to give her time to really trust me again, and I'm cool with it."

"Well you'd better not screw up this Nate or I'm gonna whip your ass myself. That girl's been through enough, you know what I mean?" Skills interrupted.

"Yeah I know. So look the wedding's this week. Any idea what the best man's gotta do?" Nathan asked. This was his first time being a best man and he was pretty clueless.

Skills laughed. "I think you're gonna have to do whatever Jake tells you to do. Man, you're gonna be his bitch!"

"Go to hell Skills." Nathan laughed along. "Look I gotta run. I promised Haley I'll take her home today. So I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Yeah yeah whatever. Now get your ass outta here before I throw you out," Skills said while throwing a ball at him, hitting him on the back.

Nathan gave him an evil look. "Dude you're lucky I'm in a good mood," he said before heading out of the gym.

* * *

Nathan saw her coming out of her class and quickly ran up to her. "Hey you. Ready to go home yet?" he asked giving her a quick kiss before taking her books for him to carry.

Haley smiled. "Wow, aren't you a gentleman. Yeah I'm ready. We need to hurry though, I need to be at Peyton's in an hour."

"What? I thought I'd make you dinner tonight?" Nathan asked walking them to his car.

"I told you I was gonna go to Peyton's tonight to help her with the wedding stuff and you said ok," she replied.

Nathan looked confused. "No you did not. When did you tell me this?"

"When we were in the shower this morning. Come on! I did tell you," she said stubbornly.

Nathan laughed. "Great, tell me something like that to me while I'm in the shower with you. You know how I'm easily distracted." He looked at her teasingly making her blush.

"Nathan stop it. People might hear you," Haley said worriedly while looking around to make sure nobody heard them. "No seriously I need to be at Peyton's or she's gonna kill me."

"Ok fine I guess dinner can wait. I'm gonna miss you though. Now get in. I wouldn't want Peyton to butcher my girl," he said laughing.

* * *

Haley looked on as Peyton was trying to figure out the seating arrangement for the wedding. She looked up to Haley and said, "Haley! I've been blabbering for about ten minutes and you weren't even listening to me!"

"Oh God sorry. I was thinking of something else. What were you saying?" Haley snapped out of her daydream and looked at Peyton apologetically.

Peyton looked at her curiously. "What were you thinking about anyway?" She laughed when she saw Haley blush. "Were you thinking about your hot sex with a certain Mr. Scott last night?"

Haley looked at her in disbelief. "Did Lucas tell you? I'm so gonna kill him."

"Ooooohhh did somebody mention hot sex? What about it?" Brooke's voice was heard as she sauntered into the kitchen, carrying a tub of ice cream.

"What? Nothing! I don't know what you guys are talking about?" Haley's cheeks were flushed, a sure sign that she was embarrassed. "Look you called me to help you with the wedding and here I am. Can we do that now?"

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting away from this that easily. Come on Haley. Tell us!" Brooke begged while putting huge spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Haley groaned. "You guys are unbelievable. I expect this from Brooke, but Peyton you're getting married this weekend!"

"Ah who cares about me getting married this weekend when we can talk about you and Nathan having hot sex?" Peyton's glinted with mischief as she watched her friend squirm.

"There's nothing to tell. He spent the night with me and we had sex. Happy? Now can we move on?"

Brooke clapped her hands gleefully. "How many times?"

Haley's eyes widened in shock. "What?? Brooke! How can you ask me that question?" Brooke kept quiet while giving her a knowing look. "Ok fine. Five," Haley said, her face turning beetroot red.

Peyton and Brooke screamed hysterically. "Five! Wow you gotta teach soon-to-be Mrs. Jagielski some moves for Saturday night Tutorgirl," Brooke said. "No wonder you're zoning out."

"Ok ok. Can we talk about something else now?" Haley covered her face. She couldn't believe her friends were interrogating her about sleeping with Nathan. She had always been shy when it came to sex, even around Nathan.

Peyton grinned and looked at Brooke. "Come on Brooke. I think we've tortured her enough. So Haley, does this mean you guys are together now?" She was genuinely happy for them. She had seen Haley suffer enough last year and it was about time something good happen to her.

Haley looked at them thoughtfully. "Well, we agreed to take things slow. I mean, there's still some things that we need to talk about but so far things are looking ok."

"That's great Haley. Just so you know, if he breaks your heart one more time, you know who to call to kick his ass," Brooke offered.

"Thanks guys. Now we really need to get to work. Chop chop!" Haley laughed as Brooke and Peyton groaned in protest.

"Wow somebody can't wait to get home tonight." Brooke held up her hands to show five fingers. "Five times!"

"BROOKE!" Haley yelled making everybody laugh.

* * *

Haley immediately jumped on the bed in exhaustion as soon as she got home. "Oh my God I can't feel my legs," she groaned. It was past midnight when she finally finished helping Peyton out with the wedding preparation and the thought of waking up early for school filled her with dread. It was a good thing Nathan picked her up as she didn't think it was humanly possible for her to drive after all the torture Peyton put her and Brooke through.

"Tired?" She opened one eye when she heard Nathan ask. She was too tired to speak and just managed a nod. "Come here, give me your feet." She willingly did as she was told and let out a low moan when she felt him gently massaging his feet. "So did they drill you about me spending the night last night?" he asked giving her a glance. She immediately perked up and looked at him.

"How did you...? Wait a minute. Did you get it from the guys too?" Nathan gave her a grin indicating a yes. "Oohhh Lucas is so dead. That guy can't keep his mouth shut, he's worse than a girl!"

"Relax Hales. They're gonna find out sooner or later," he said. "So can I spend the night here again?" Nathan asked raising his eyebrow suggestively making her laugh.

"Yeah you can spend the night but we're not doing anything tonight. I feel like I can sleep for two whole days. That Peyton is worse than me when we..." her voice trailed off when she saw the look on Nathan's face.

"It's ok Hales. We can't pretend that it didn't happen." Nathan said giving her feet a tight squeeze before getting up. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen to take my medication ok? I'll be back in five minutes." He kissed her softly on the lips and took out a couple of bottles from the pocket of his jacket.

"Hang on. I need a glass of water too," Haley said as she forced herself out of the bed and followed him into the kitchen. "Hey how come you have two bottles of pills? What are they for?" she asked as she looked at them curiously.

She didn't notice Nathan's hesitation before answering, "Emmm this one's for the after chemo treatment and the other one, well...they're basically the same thing."

"If they're basically the same thing, why do you have to take them both?" She looked at him sceptically.

He laughed nervously. "I dunno Hales. The doctor gave them to me so I guess I'll have to take them both." Seeing that she was eyeing him curiously he said, "Haley I know that look. Stop worrying already." He took the pills and quickly put the bottles back in his pocket.

"Ok fine." Suddenly she didn't feel too tired and was content with talking with him. "What was the chemo like?"

"Hey I thought you were ready to sleep for two whole days?" He asked as he took a seat next to her.

She looked down at her hands on the table and kept silent before answering softly, "I would have taken care of you then Nathan."

Nathan took her hands in his and kissed them tenderly. "I know you would have Hales, but I didn't want you to spend the days after our wedding worrying about me. I wanted you to be happy, and let's face it, watching me throw up every day is not actually honeymooney is it?" he joked, trying to make light the conversation. He knew that she thought she should have been there for him and was feeling guilty about it. "Hey," he said lifting her chin up so that he could look her in the eye. "Whatever it is you're thinking, just stop. Somebody told me that what happened in the past can't be changed, but we can change the future. And that's what I'm planning to do. I love you Haley."

Haley gave him a watery smile and felt her eyes water. "I know. I just kept thinking what if something had happened and you didn't make it. I wouldn't even have the chance to say goodbye."

"Haley don't say that. I'm right here. Nothing's gonna happen. I promise," he said as pulled her to sit on his lap, wiping the tears from her face. "Come on, it's getting late, and as much as I want to do things to you, you really need to sleep." Nathan laughed when she gave him a hard smack and got up to carry her to the bedroom.

As soon as he was sure she was sleeping, he started thinking. He turned to look at her sleeping next to him. He felt guilty for lying to her although he wouldn't really call it lying. He just didn't want to tell her anything until he was sure. The truth was he didn't really know how to tell her in the first place. Keeping things from her always turn out bad but he also knew that if he told her, it would break her and he couldn't do that to her again. _Dammit! Why does it have to be so complicated? _He thought and tried to get it out of his head before letting sleep overcome him.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hi guys I'm back with a brand new chapter. I don't know about you guys but I can't wait for Monday to come. The wait is killing me! lol. Anyway I hope I'm not dangling you guys too much with one secret after another, but I've had this story planned out from the beginning so just bear with me. Big shout out to everybody who's still sticking by me and this story. You guys are just so amazing. So here's the next chapter. Sorry it's a bit short. Lemme know what you guys think. Cheers!**

* * *

Chapter 13

Haley was struggling with Peyton's wedding dress and it was starting to drive her crazy. "Peyton! Will you keep still already! Stop fidgeting. How the hell are we gonna get you to walk down that aisle if you keep moving?"

Peyton looked at her friend sheepishly. "Sorry Hales. I'm just nervous. I can't believe I'm getting married today? It's just so bizarre, you know?" Her remarks were met with silence and she looked down at Haley. "Hey are you ok with this? I mean considering what happened..."

"Peyton stop it. I'm fine. Today is your day. Let's just concentrate on getting you ready. And for God's sake stop moving!" Haley groaned in frustration. Just then Brooke walked in, her mouth wide open.

"Oh my God. Peyton you look gorgeous. I mean of course you look gorgeous. You're wearing one of mine." She grinned while giving Peyton an approving look at the chiffon halter dress that she was wearing. Knowing Peyton, she wouldn't wear anything traditional and Brooke really did a good job designing a dress for her. "And Haley wow. I'm pretty sure Nathan won't be able to get his hands off you when he sees you. I still can't get over the five times," she said, her eyes twinkling in merriment.

Haley laughed. "Brooke are you not over that already? Don't you have anything else to think about? Ok Peyton, you're done. Take a look." She quickly smoothed down Peyton's dress and guided her friend so she could look at herself in the mirror.

"What? What is it? Anything wrong?" Haley asked worriedly when Peyton didn't say anything. It took her hours to get Peyton ready and she would kill herself if Peyton didn't like what she saw.

"Nothing. It's perfect. Thanks Hales. And thanks Brooke for the dress. You guys are the best." She started to make her way to a chair and sat down, exhaling as she did so. "Haley, can I ask you something?"

Haley walked over to her. "What is it sweetie? Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that...How did you know that Nathan's the one for you?" She looked at Haley questioningly. She was starting to doubt if she and Jake were too young to get married.

Haley sighed and took Peyton's hand in hers. "Well, I know that I'm happiest when I'm around him and can't wait to see him when he's not with me. He knows exactly what to say to make me feel good. I don't know Peyton. There's a lot of things. Why? What's going on?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

"I'm just so scared. I mean I've never been so scared in my life. I'm about to spend the rest of my life with one guy, you know what I mean?" Peyton said nervously.

"Peyton, you're not marrying just any guy. You're marrying Jake. The guy who worships the ground you walk on. There is nothing to be scared about, trust me." Brooke said, trying to calm her friend's nerves and gave her a hug. "Now come on, the ceremony's about to start. Get you fat ass out of that chair. I'll see you later ok. I love you P. Sawyer."

"I love you too B. Davis. And you Tutorgirl. Thanks guys. Ok I'm ready. Let's go and get me married." Peyton said giving them both a hug. "Come on bridesmaid. Lead the way."

Haley grinned, trying to push the thought of her own wedding a year ago out of her mind and took Peyton's hand, leading her out of the changing room.

* * *

As soon as wedding march began to play, Nathan's head snapped up, anxiously waiting for Haley to appear. His thoughts were not really on the wedding but more on Haley. He was afraid that the wedding would bring back painful memories for her. And when he saw her enter the church, his breath caught in his throat, amazed at what he saw. She could always take his breath away. He gave her a smile as she walked pass him and grinned when she winked at him. He rarely took his eyes off her all through the ceremony, fumbling to find the wedding rings in his pocket when Jake nudged him.

"Do you, Jake Jagielski take Peyton Sawyer to be your..." the priest's voice slowly faded away as he continued to watch her, silent tears slowly falling down her cheeks as she quickly wiped them away not wanting anybody to see. His heart broke at the sight. God he would do anything to have him and Haley standing before the priest, saying the exact same vows that would make her his forever. The crowd clapped, indicating it was over and he reluctantly tore his gaze away from her and walked beside her down the aisle.

"Hey are you ok?" he whispered softly.

Haley turned to him. "Yeah I'm fine," she said giving him a small smile and linked her arm with his. He didn't get the chance to talk to her further as Peyton and Jake came out of the church to the cheering guests. "Hey I'll see you later ok. I gotta go and find Brooke," she said trying to avoid looking at him, and before he could say anything she was gone.

He found her again at the wedding reception talking to Mouth and Skills. "Hey," he said touching her waist and giving her soft peck on the cheek. "Hi guys."

"Yo Nate. Your girl here is looking fine dog. So when are you gonna make an honest woman out of her?" he asked.

"Skills! Don't you know when to shut up?" Mouth said, gaping at what he just heard.

Skills grinned. "I'm just saying dog. Coz if you don't, I might just beat you to it," he said winking at Haley, making her laugh.

"No chance in hell Skills," he said before pulling Haley away from them. The music was playing and some of the guests were already on the dance floor, swaying to the music. "Hey we didn't get to finish the dance at the engagement party. Dance with me?" he said looking at her face, daring her to look at him.

"Yeah sure." He took her hands and wrapped them around his neck, and gently put his own hand at her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"You look beautiful Hales," he whispered into her ear, her scent dizzying him.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She loved seeing Nathan all dressed up in his tuxedo. He was so handsome he still managed to make her heart skip a beat everytime she saw him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked when he noticed that she was silent.

She put her head on his chest and sighed. "Nothing. I'm just thinking what would have happened if we did get married that day. I'm sorry, it's silly. Let's talk about something else."

"No it's not silly. I do it all the time too." He took a deep breath before pulling them apart and looked deeply into her eyes. "Can I ask you a question? Remember the day I asked you to marry me, I mean the very exact moment?"

"Yeah of course. We were at the cafe. Why?" She asked, wondering where this was going.

"Well, knowing everything that you know now, if you had that moment again, do you think you would've said yes?" he asked, his heart beating faster as he waited for her to answer.

She looked down and said softly, "yeah, some days."

"Not everyday?" He looked at her sadly.

"Nathan..."

"No it's ok. I guess I deserve it," he said as he pulled her to him again. "I love you Hales. I didn't think that it was possible, but you still drive me crazy."

Haley smiled as she laid her head against his chest. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you still drive me crazy too." She loved moments like this, when nothing else mattered except the two of them. She was slowly starting to let him back into her life and so far things were going well. Suddenly the music stopped forcing them to pull themselves apart from each other. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him deeply. "Ok I'm gonna go and find Mouth. I promised him the next dance."

Nathan reluctantly let her go and groaned. "Do you have to? I mean, can't you just dance with me instead?"

She gave a tinkling laugh. "Nathan stop it. I'll find you later ok. Love you."

"But..." Before he knew it she was already making her way to Mouth's table. He threw his hands up in frustration and walked towards Jake and Lucas. "Hey Luke. Hey Jake. Congratulations man, you're a kept man," he said as he slapped him on the back.

"Well if being kept means being tied up, I'm all for it man," Jake said, grinning.

"Oh God Jake! Too much info. What is it with you people?!" Lucas groaned while covering his ears. "By the way Nate, did you tell Haley already?" He looked at his brother taking out his pill bottles from his pocket and swallowing a couple of them, making a face as he did so.

"Not that it's any of your business, I haven't. I don't think it's the right time yet." Nathan could feel his brother's eyes boring into him and quickly looked around the reception area to avoid his gaze.

Jake looked at him in disbelief. "Nate! Haven't you learned anything yet? Why do you keep doing this to Haley? And not to mention to yourself. Look you said that she was already asking about the pills. Just tell her man."

"And what do I tell her Jake?" he asked, his voice raising slightly.

"Tell her the truth! Dammit Nathan! Why are you being such an idiot?" It was Lucas's turn to be angry at him. He put his hand on Nathan's shoulder and said, "Nate, listen to me. For once in your life, just tell her the truth. Stop pretending that everything is alright when it isn't."

Nathan looked at him squarely in the eyes. "How do I tell her Lucas? How do I tell her that I..." His words trailed off as he choked on his emotions. "Things are just getting good between us. I just don't want to ruin it."

"And you think by not telling her now, it's gonna be all puppies and rainbows later?" Jake challenged him. Seeing his friend looking distraught, he gently said, "Just think about it ok? She needs to know, and you know it. Look I'm gonna go. The limo's coming around soon to take me and Peyton to the airport." Nathan simply nodded. "Thanks for coming guys. And thanks Nate for being my best man. Nice work with the rings. You might want to take off your eyes off Haley once in a while," he grinned before they walked over to Peyton and to the crowd that was already waiting to see them off.

* * *

"Congratulations Peyton. You look ridiculously happy. " Haley hugged her friend before letting Brooke have her chance.

Peyton looked at them both and smiled. "I am happy. Thanks you guys. Thank you so much for everything."

"Hey no problem. We'll be sure to return the nightmarish favour when our turn comes." Brooke grinned, showing the dimples on her face. "Enjoy yourself P. Sawyer. And let me in on all the details when you get back."

"Brooke! You're incorrigible!" Haley shaking her head, laughing at Brooke's behaviour.

"Well I'll take as a compliment if I knew what it meant."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Oh believe me Brooke. That was not a compliment." She turned her attention to Peyton and kissing her cheeks said, "Have fun Peyton. We'll see you in a week."

"So it's just you and me Tutorgirl." Brooke said, turning to Haley as she watched the limo leave the church. "What oh what are we gonna do?"

Haley looked at Brooke with narrowed eyes. "I know that look Brooke Davis. I'm pretty sure you can think of something. And whatever it is, you can count me out. Whatever you're planning might either land us in jail or send us to the graves," she said making Brooke laugh. "Hey can I hitch a ride home with you?" Haley asked her.

"Huh? Why? Isn't Nathan taking you home?" Brooke's face was full of confusion as she looked at Haley suspiciously.

"Yeah he was, but I can't find him and I'm a bit tired. And I know that you and Lucas are gonna leave soon." A hand touched her shoulder and was followed by Nathan's deep throaty voice.

"Who's leaving soon? Are you ready to go?" Nathan asked her.

Brooke looked at Haley intently. She knew her friend long enough to know that there was something she wasn't telling her. "Yeah Haley couldn't find you so she was asking if she could ride with us."

"What? I was just right there with Luke," Nathan said, looking as confused as Brooke.

Haley gave them a nervous laugh. "Sorry I didn't see you. Yeah, I'm ready to go. Bye Brooke. " She quickly took Nathan's hand before Brooke could say anything.

* * *

"Hey what was that all about?" Nathan asked when they got in his car. "You know, you riding with Brooke?" Nathan continued, seeing Haley's questioning look.

"Oh nothing. Like Brooke said, I couldn't find you so I thought I'd go with her and call you to let you know."

Nathan noticed Haley biting her lips, a sure sign that she was either nervous or hiding something but he decided to let it go. They rode in silence as Haley stared out the window, replaying the conversation she overheard between Nathan, Lucas and Jake when they weren't noticing. She couldn't believe that there was something else that Nathan wasn't telling her. They promised to trust each other and so far, he's not giving her the chance to do just that. She didn't want to ask Lucas or Jake because she didn't want Nathan to think that she was snooping around behind his back, but judging from their conversation earlier, it didn't look like he was going to tell her anytime soon.

"So did you enjoy the wedding?" Nathan asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah it was beautiful. They looked so happy," she said and continued to stare out the window. She didn't really feel like talking to him and everytime he tried to talk to her, she would give him a short answer.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the car turned into her driveway. She quickly came out of the car and headed straight for the door without even waiting for him. "Hey, wait up." Nathan's voice called out to her and did a little run to catch up with her. He turned so he could face her and noticing that she was fumbling with her keys, took them from her hands and unlocked the door for her. He touched her arm gently and said, "Hales, are you ok? Why are you so quiet? What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired. I'm gonna go take a shower and then take a nap. Maybe you should go home too." She started to walk in her door when she felt Nathan grabbing her arm.

"Haley, it's not nothing. Something's bothering you. Wanna tell me what it is?" He looked at her intently, trying to figure her out.

"Nathan, I told you. It's nothing. Even if it is something, we don't have to tell each other everything right? You should know. You're an expert in hiding things." She said yanking her hand away from him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked.

Haley turned around to face him. "Exactly what it meant," she said as she slammed her door to his face, not giving him a chance to respond.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi guys. I promised you guys that I was going to update more regularly now so here I am with a new chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews, though I've noticed there was a dip in the reviews compared to previous chapters :( Anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you'll like it and lemme know what you think ;) Cheers!**

* * *

Chapter 14

Haley closed her eyes as she leaned against the door and took a deep breath. She was so frustrated with Nathan and could not believe that she had just slammed the door in his face. She headed towards her bathroom, took off her clothes closed her eyes as the water hit her face. She could not understand how Nathan could have done this to her again. It was another half an hour before she came out of her bedroom, towelling her hair dry. She removed the towel from her face and saw that Nathan was in the living room. "You're still here?"

"Haley I don't know what your problem is. One minute we were fine and we were dancing and having fun and the next minute you seem like you can't get away from me fast enough. Will you just tell me what the hell is going on?" Nathan said, his voice rising with every word.

"Can you really blame me?" Haley sighed and looked at him impatiently. "Nathan, we're both tired. Why don't you just go home."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on. Why are you doing this Haley? You keep blowing hot and cold you're making my head spin. So what's it gonna be? Do you want to tell me what's going on? Trust me. I can wait here all day." He said, his eyes flashing with anger.

Haley gave him an incredulous look. "Wow. You're one to talk Nathan. Trust you? That's a joke. Don't talk about trust when you don't even know what it means."

"Haley stop this." He pleaded, sensing that she had built a wall around her once again. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. "Tell me what's bothering you. Did I do something wrong?" She couldn't bring herself to look at him an turned her face away from him. "Haley don't do this. Don't shut me out. Not again. Look at me. Whatever it is, we can work this out but you have to tell me," Nathan said, panic slowly rising with every sentence that came out of her mouth. "I love you Hales..."

"Stop that Nathan. That's not fair."

"Why? What is that not fair? Haley if you don't believe anything that I've said to you, believe it when I tell you that I love you."

"That's just it Nathan. I do believe it when you tell me that you love me. With all my heart I do. But I don't think that's enough. I don't think you love me enough." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "You promised me that you will never hurt me Nathan. And you're still doing it and I don't know why I keep letting you. Tell me something Nathan and I want the truth this time." Nathan nodded and waited for her to continue. "Remember that day I asked you about the pills and what they were for? What were they really for Nathan?" she asked looking him straight in the eye.

Nathan was stunned into silence. He let go of her her and turned away. He closed his eyes and covered his mouth in his hand. "I told you Haley, they were for my chemo treatment," he finally said.

"Stop it! Stop lying to me! You know what Nathan? I can't do this anymore. I heard you and Jake and Luke talking at the wedding and I know there's more to the pills than your chemo treatment. You asked me to trust you. You're asking me to let you in. How can I do that when you can't trust me to tell the truth. How do you expect me to let you in when you yourself won't let me in?" She took a deep breath as she felt the tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall. "I think you should go. At this point I don't think I'm interested in what you are going to tell me. For all I know it could be another lie on top of another lie."

He looked at her with vacant eyes and said before turning to leave, "I'm afraid I'm not enough for you. Maybe I'm not." With that he let himself out of the door, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that were already wetting his face.

* * *

"Hey Tutorgirl! Ready to go shopping?" Brooke's voice snapped Haley out of her thoughts as she entered her classroom. While waiting for Brooke to pick her up from school, her mind drifted off to the argument she had with Nathan a few days ago. _Why would he think that he was not enough for her?_

"What? Yeah, hang on let me just get my purse." She had agreed to go on a shopping spree with Brooke, if only to provide her with some distraction. Peyton and Jake were not due to be back until Sunday so Brooke had one less person to bother, which was why Haley became her next target.

"Are you alright Haley? You seem distant." Brooke looked at her worriedly. "Ever since the wedding you've been in this zombie like state. Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Haley shook her head and managed a smile. "It's nothing. I got into a small argument with Nathan. Don't worry about it."

"What? What did he do this time? I swear to God I'm gonna kill him." Brooke's voice was seething with anger.

"Ok easy tiger. Like I said, it's nothing, so you can retract the claws. Come on let's go." She picked up her purse from her table and grabbed Brooke's arm and led her out of the door. They were just about to leave the school ground when they saw Nathan at the parking lot. Brooke immediately came up to him with murder in her eyes.

"What the hell did you do to Haley this time Nathan?" She asked poking her finger at Nathan's chest. Haley quickly pulled her back.

"Brooke stop it. It's nothing. Come on, let's go."

Nathan looked at Haley and said to Brooke, "Brooke it's none of your business ok?"

"No it is my business. Haley's my friend and when you keep on hurting my friend, it became my business."

"Brooke please. Let's just leave ok?" Haley pleaded as she looked at Nathan's face. She thought she saw a hint of pain in his eyes. She had expected to Nathan to try and talk to her, just like he did everytime they had an argument, but not this time. He hadn't even called her and everytime she saw him in school he would take a look at her before walking in the opposite direction.

Brooke took a last look at Nathan before backing away, leaving Haley to face Nathan. She looked at him questioningly before leaving, "Why?" He knew what she meant by the question. She wanted to know what he meant when he said he was not enough for her.

"Haley...I'm sorry," he whispered as he watched her leave until she was out of sight before he got into his car and wept.

* * *

It was a Saturday morning and Haley, Lucas and Brooke were at the cafe having breakfast. "You know it's really weird not having Peyton and Jake joining us for breakfast." Brooke said as she munched on her croissant.

Lucas laughed. "Brooke I know you miss Peyton but she's coming back tomorrow. You know if I didn't know you better and you weren't my girlfriend, I would think that you two were gay. Maybe you were the one who should have married her instead of Jake."

"Ewwww Luke. That's gross!" Haley laughed at his remark. "Hey Luke, is Nathan joining us?" she asked him, her face not giving anything away.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since yesterday. Why?"

"Nothing, I was just asking." Haley sipped her coffee quietly and couldn't help but wonder if Nathan was alright.

Brooke got out of her chair and asked them, "Hey do you guys want anything else? I'm getting a pie."

"Wow you sure are eating a lot today." Haley looked at her friend with raised eyebrows.

"What are you talking about? I always eat a lot. I refuse to succumb to the pressure of being stick thin. Anorexia is a disease, not a fashion statement," Brooke said, flicking her hair before heading to the counter, leaving Lucas and Haley alone.

Lucas looked at her suspiciously. "Hey are you alright Hales? You've been quiet. Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Well actually no. Luke can I ask you something? At Peyton's wedding I overhead you and Nathan and Jake talk about the pills that Nathan is taking. What are the pills for?" When Lucas did not answer, she continued, "I asked him about it and he said that they're for his chemo treatment. Is that true?" She was hoping that Lucas would tell her the truth. They've been best friends since they were kids and he has never lied to her about anything before.

"Haley, maybe you should ask him yourself," Lucas replied as he focused his attention on a piece of crumb on the table.

"That's just it Lucas. He refuses to talk to me about it. Look I know he's your brother but if there's anything I should know, you have to tell me." Haley pleaded as he reached over for his hand.

He gave her hand a squeeze and said, "Hales, I'm sorry. It's not my place to tell. I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready. And Hales, you should know that whatever he does, he has your best interest at heart."

Haley sighed. "I know. Oh there he is. Maybe I can try to talk to him." Haley looked up and saw Nathan entering the cafe.

"Hey bro. You're late. We're finishing already. Late night?" Lucas asked his brother and looked a bit concerned seeing his disheveled look.

"Yeah I couldn't sleep. Sorry." Nathan said as he tried to avoid looking at Haley. "Hey I'm gonna go get some coffee," he said heading straight to the counter.

"He even can't bring himself to look at me Luke," Haley said softly. "You know what? Maybe I should go. I'll catch you later ok?" she said before shouting over her shoulder at Brooke. "Hey Brooke I'm leaving. You wanna come?"

Brooke came up to her and said, "Yeah, hang on." She kissed Lucas and gave him a wink. "I'll see you later Broody." Lucas watched the two friends leave and before turning his attention to Nathan.

"Ok what's going on between you and Haley? Just now she was asking me about the pills. Is that why are you avoiding her?"

Nathan looked at him in surprise. "You didn't tell her anything, did you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I didn't. But you should. Look I you're not telling her because you're afraid of what it might do to her. But don't you think she should be the judge of that?" Lucas looked at Nathan pleadingly. "Nate, you told me that you guys are trying to work things out. This is not working things out. Not when you keep hiding things from her. She deserves to know."

"I know she does and you're right. I'm gonna tell her today." He looked up to Lucas with a look of resignation. "But Luke, I've been doing a lot of thinking. I'm thinking I should go back to New York. I've already packed my things and my plane is leaving tomorrow." Seeing that his brother was about to protest he said, "Don't Luke. I know what you're going to say but I've made up my mind. Haley deserves better than me."

Lucas looked at him incredulously. "You selfish son of a bitch. You're not doing this for her. You're doing this for yourself. You can't stand the guilt of what it's gonna do to her. Dammit it Nathan, grow up! You want her to be happy? Well she can't do that. Not without you. She loves you Nathan."

Nathan shook his head. "What if love is not enough?"

"Nathan, I'm begging you. Don't do this to her. Not again." Lucas looked at him, head bent down. "You know what, for a minute there, I was almost ashamed that you are my brother. I'm gonna go. You do what you have to do but if you leave again, make sure you don't come back." He took one last look at his brother in disgust and left.

* * *

The house was quiet which gave Nathan the opportunity to think. His mom was out helping Karen out at the cafe. He laid on his bed and thought about what Lucas said this morning. He couldn't believe that he was in this position again. Just when he thought that he and Haley could have the life that they had always wanted, another obstacle came in their way. He took out from his drawer the photo of her which he found in one of the boxes at her house and traced the outline of her face. He closed his eyes and images of her face flashed before him. He thought of all the times they spent together and all the laughs that they shared and he smiled. Nobody could make him laugh the way Haley did. He thought of the times he was in the hospital, wishing that he could get out soon so he could find her again. Thinking about all those things made his heart ache. And he ached for her. He thought of all the things that he had done to her. All the pain that he had caused. Tears started streaming down his face. He quickly wiped them away when he heard his mother's voice.

"Nathan? Are you home honey?" He opened his bedroom door and let his mother in. "What's with the bag? Are you going somewhere?" she asked, looking at the mess in his room.

"Emmm...yeah. I was gonna tell you. I'm going back to New York tomorrow morning."

Deb looked at her son incredulously. "And when is it that you were gonna tell me? What's going on?"

Nathan sat down on his bed. "I just thought I'd go away for a while to clear my head."

Deb walked over and joined him on the bed. "Does Haley know that you're leaving? Again?"

"No. I'm gonna tell her tonight."

Deb took his hand in hers and shook her head. "What are you doing Nathan? Is it about those?" she asked him, indicating the bottles of pills on his bedside table. "What happened to you Nathan? You used to be so strong, so sure of yourself, like the world couldn't stand a chance against you. You didn't tell Haley, did you?"

"I don't know how Mom. I don't think I can stand seeing her face when I do, not after everything she's been through."

"And you think by going away, you could spare her the pain? Do you even know her at all?" She wiped away the tears from his son's face and continued. "Let me tell you something Nathan. Haley is like a daughter to me and I know her. I know that she's stronger than you give her credit for."

"You don't understand Mom. She already lost a baby. How do I tell her that I can't give her anymore?" He covered his face in his hands and sobbed.

Deb pulled his son into her arms and said soothingly. "Nathan, you don't know that. The doctors said that there's a chance that you still could. That's what the pills are for. Let me ask you something. Why do you keep taking them if you don't believe that one day you and Haley could have the family that you both have always wanted? Now you need to clean yourself up and go see her. Tell her Nathan. And then you can decide if you want to go back to New York or not ok? Promise me you'll tell her?"

Nathan pulled himself away from his mother's embrace and nodded. "Ok I will. Thanks Mom."

Deb smiled at her only son. "I know you'll do the right thing. You always have." She got up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her leaving Nathan staring after her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Oh my God I can't believe all the wonderful reviews you guys gave on the last chapter. I was really blown away. You guys are awesome as usual. Just to clear things up because a couple of you brought this issue up, nobody's pregnant. Sorry to disappoint you guys ;) but that just won't go with the storyline that I had in mind. So here's the new chapter. I hope you'll like and even if you don't, let me know. Keep the reviews coming! Cheers!**

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Chapter 15

Haley was deep in concentration as she did her work on her laptop that afternoon. Just as she was getting into her groove she heard the knock on her door and looked up from her laptop. "I'm coming!" She got up from her chair and made her way to the door before opening it. "Hi what are you doing here?" she managed to ask when she saw Nathan at her door. She let him in and walked over to the living room with Nathan trailing behind her.

"Haley we need to talk. You were right about the pills. There's more to it than the chemo treatment." Before he could continue, she put her hand on his mouth.

"Nathan I've been thinking about it. It's ok. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not gonna force you to tell me until you're ready to." She gave him a smile and put her hand on his face. "Isn't that what trust means? I know that you won't do anything to hurt me." She pulled his face closer to him until their foreheads met.

"I love you Haley. I love you so much." he whispered softly.

Haley looked into his eyes. "I know. I love you too. Now are you gonna kiss me or what?" She gave him a grin. He kissed her tenderly as he closed his eyes as if he wanted to capture this moment forever. A few seconds later he pulled away and took her hands. "What? What's wrong?" she asked looking at him worriedly.

"Haley, I appreciate you not forcing me and I love you for that but I think I need to tell you. You deserve to know."

"What is it?" Her heart started pounding as she anxiously waited for him to answer.

Nathan looked down at her hands and said, "after I had the surgery to remove the tumor I had to go through chemo, and-"

"And it's gone now right? Your cancer's gone?" she interrupted.

"Yeah it is. But the chemo treatment had some side effects, like hair loss, vomiting, weight loss and..." He looked at her, unable to continue. He took a deep breath before he continued. "Remember the day I went to New York for a check up. The doctor told me that chemo treatment could affect fertility."

"What? So what does it mean?" Haley asked although she already knew the answer.

"It means that there's a possibility that I could never have children." He looked at her as she put a hand over her mouth and got up from the sofa. "The extra pills I took were to help me with that but the doctor told me not to put up my hopes too high."

Haley closed her eyes as she tried to process what Nathan had just told her. She felt her heart drop when Nathan told her. He came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Haley, please say something."

She turned around revealing the tears that had already flowed freely down her cheeks. He pulled her into his arms and held her as she wept. "I'm sorry Hales. I'm so sorry. Will you talk to me?"

"Nathan..." she was about to say something when her cellphone rang. "Hello?" she said through her tears. "Mom? Are you ok? Hang on. Slow down. What? When? Oh my God. I'll be on the next flight," she said before hanging up.

"Hales? Are you ok? What happened?"

"It's my dad. He got into an accident. I have to go to LA today," she said, her voice shaking.

"What? I'll go with you. Pack your bags and I'll drive you to the airport. I might have to stop by my house to pick up my things."

"Nathan, you don't have to-"

"Haley, just do like I said. Go!" Just then Lucas came in.

"Hi guys. Hales, are you alright?" Lucas asked noticing her tear stained face and looked at Nathan questioningly.

"My dad got into an accident. Nathan and I are going to LA today."

Lucas looked at Nathan. "So you're not going back to New York?" he asked.

Haley gave the both of them a confused look and before she could ask, she heard Nathan say, "Haley, go. I'll wait for you here." He turned to Lucas and gave him an angry look. "Lucas, didn't I tell you last time to mind your own business?"

"Hey you don't seem to be handling your business well, so somebody has to do it. So, did you tell her?"

"About which one? The pills or New York?"

"Both." Lucas clarified.

"I told her about the pills but she got the phone call from her mom before I could tell her about New York." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Everything's so messed up Luke. She deserves more than this. It's like she's been having one bad luck after another."

Lucas went up to his brother and touched his arm tentatively. "Look Nate. I know you guys are going through a lot right now, but I know you guys can get through this. You did the right thing by telling her. She needs you now Nate. More than ever. You should be there for her."

"I know. And Luke, thanks man. I know you can be an ass sometimes but I also know you'll always have my back."

Lucas grinned and gave Nathan a hug. "Hey that's what big brothers are for."

"Nathan? I'm ready." They pulled away when they heard Haley's voice behind them. She was looking so distraught that it broke Nathan's heart to see her like that. He came over to her and took her bags from her.

"Here let me carry these. Come on," he said as picked up the bags and put one hand comfortingly around her waist as he walked her to the door.

Lucas stopped them in their track and looked at Haley. "Hales, do you need anything else? Do you want me to come along?"

She gave him a watery smile. "No, it's ok Luke. I've got Nathan with me. I'm fine. Thanks. And tell Peyton I'll see her when I get back. And please let Mr. Turner know." She gave him a hug as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Haley, you don't have to worry about anything. And if you need anything, just call ok? And Nate, look after her will you?"

"You know I will. Thanks man," he said before leading Haley to his car.

* * *

"Hey, you ok?" Nathan asked Haley as she stared out the airplane window, giving her hand a light squeeze. She simply nodded, refusing to look at him. "Come on, you should get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we're landing." He started to pull her towards him, and when she didn't protest he placed her head on his chest and just held her close. He couldn't believe everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Everything had come spiraling downwards, especially for Haley. He knew that this was not the right time to have a conversation with her about his news. He just wished he could make it all stop. It was like ever since he came into her life, he had managed to make her life more and more complicated.

"I'm scared Nathan." He heard her whisper and looked down at her.

"Hey, I thought you were sleeping," he said as he gently stroked her head.

"I couldn't sleep. I've got butterflies in my stomach. I'm just so worried. My mom wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious."

"Shhhh...it's gonna be ok. Your dad's a tough guy. He's gonna be ok."

Haley managed a small smile. "Yeah, I know. I remember the time when me and Taylor were kids. He was building a treehouse in our backyard when he fell. My mom was running frantically to him to check if he was alright, and you know what he did? He just laughed," she said, smiling through her tears.

"Oh yeah. I remember that treehouse. It's still there at the back right?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to bring it down. I thought that it would be great for..." her voice trailed off as she couldn't bear to continue.

Nathan closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. He knew what she wanted to say and felt his heart constrict.

A couple of hours later, they landed in LA and were greeted by Haley's mom, Lydia and sister, Taylor. "Mom!" she shouted as she ran into her mother's arms. "How is he?"

"Haley! Wow I've missed you so much, my baby girl. He's at the hospital now. The doctor said that he's stable."

Taylor looked at her sister and opened her arms wide, an open invitation for a big hug. "Hey little sister," she looked up over Haley's shoulder and noticed Nathan standing in the background. "Looks like you brought somebody with you. Hi Nathan. Thanks for coming," she said as she turned to hug him, which caught Nathan by surprise. He would have thought that her whole family would have hated him for everything that he's done to Haley.

"Hi Taylor. Hi Mrs. James," he said nervously and gave both of them a small smile.

Lydia returned the smile and gave him a warm hug. "Hi Nathan. It's good to see you. Come on, I'll take you guys to to the hospital. It's already late but I'm sure they'll let you see him," she said and they started walking to the car.

"What happened Mom?" Haley asked as they pulled away from the airport parking lot.

Lydia took a deep breath before answering, "well he was crossing the road from his office to grab some lunch and a car just hit him out of nowhere."

"How bad is he?" Haley asked as her voice started to tremble. She had always been close to her dad and the thought of something like this happening just scared her. Nathan noticing her anxiety took her hand in his and gently stroked it with his thumb.

"He was pretty banged up and they had to do a surgery because he was bleeding internally. He lost consciousness but the doctor's confident that he'll pull out of it soon. I'm sure he'd love to see you when he wakes up," she said as she looked at Haley through the rearview mirror.

"And what am I, chop liver?" Taylor asked, making everybody laugh.

"You too, honey. Ok we're here. Come on."

They quickly made their way to the surgical ward and stood outside Jimmy James's room. "Why don't you go see him Hales. You too Nathan. Taylor and I will get some coffee." Nathan nodded and took Haley's hand as they entered the room.

"Daddy? Oh my God Daddy." Haley went over to his dad's bedside and touched him tentatively, as if afraid that she would break him. She had never seen her dad look so vulnerable and it took all of her will not to breakdown and cry. She felt Nathan's hand squeezing her shoulder and she turned to give him a smile. "Thank you for being here Nathan."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be Hales. Listen, I'm gonna give you some time alone with him. I'll be right outside if you need me ok?" he said, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead and felt her nod.

He started to walk outside the room and found a place to sit. Suddenly a cup of coffee appeared before him. Looking up he saw Lydia smiling down at him. "Here, take this. It tastes like crap but this is all they've got." Nathan took the coffee gratefully as she sat down beside him. "So does this place bring back bad memories for you?" Nathan looked at her questioningly. "I know you had cancer Nathan. I know that's why you left."

"I'm so sorry Mrs. James-" He didn't manage to finish his sentence when she cut her off.

"There's no reason for you to apologize. Sure I was angry at you when you took off. We all were, but you did it for a reason. I know how much you love my daughter and you never meant for all those things to happen to her. So are you back for good?"

The question caught him by surprise and he was spared from answering it when Haley's voice interrupted them. "Mom! I think Dad's awake!"

* * *

They were all waiting outside the room to let the doctor check in on Jimmy, and all the while Nathan never let go of Haley's hand as she waited anxiously for the doctor to come out. "Haley, your lips are gonna fall off if you keep biting them." Haley looked up at Nathan and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry, I'm just nervous."

"Look I told you your Dad's gonna be alright so stop worrying."

Nathan gave her hand a little squeeze and grinned, but his grin was quickly wiped off when he heard Haley say, "Yeah, that's what you said about us. Turned out you were wrong." Haley sighed. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. Look, the doctor's out so I'm just gonna go see my dad ok." Nathan said nothing as he let her hand go and just stood in the doorway watching the family surround themselves around Jimmy.

"Hey, look what the cat dragged in." Jimmy's raspy voice startled him. "Hi Nathan."

He reluctantly walked over to the bed. "Hi Mr. James. I know this may sound stupid but how do you feel?"

"You're right. It does sound stupid," he said chuckling. "I feel like I've just been hit by a car. Wait a minute, I was hit by a car."

"Dad! That's not funny!" Taylor said as she gave a playful slap on his arm.

Lydia gave his husband a stern look and said, "Jimmy, behave yourself. Honey, I'm gonna go home for a while and make you some food. I've tried the coffee and I can only imagine what the food's gonna be like."

"Mom if it's alright with you, can I stay?" Haley asked.

"Aren't you tired honey?" She looked at Haley with concern, but knowing how stubborn her younger daughter could be she relented. "Ok you can stay, but only for a while. Come on Tay, you can help me make dinner for Dad. Nathan, why don't you come with me. You can take the other car later and pick Haley up." She walked over to her husband grinning and gave him a kiss. "Now Jimmy, don't you start pinching the nurses' asses when I'm not around, do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am," Jimmy said giving her a mischievous look. Nathan watched the exchange and smiled. He had always respected the James's and their relationship. He only wished he and Haley could be like that one day.

He went over to Haley and put his hand on her waist. "Are you gonna be ok while I'm gone? I'll be back soon ok?" She nodded. "I love you Hales," he whispered into her ear before he left, leaving her and her dad.

"Hey dad. Tell me something. Were you checking out girls when you were crossing the road that you didn't see the car coming towards you?"

Jimmy let out a small laugh. "You know your old man too well, Haley Bop. Don't go telling your mother that. How are you? I've missed you, you know."

"I've missed you too Dad," she said as tears started to stream down her face. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

He patted her hand comfortingly. "I'm fine. The doctor said I should be out in a week. And if anything did happen to me, you'll be fine. You have Nathan."

"Dad..."

"I'm just saying Haley Bop. Besides, I wouldn't want to miss seeing you finally walk down the aisle with Nathan," he said grinning.

"Dad! You're impossible! I don't know why I stayed."

Jimmy laughed. "Come here, give me a hug." They talked for a few minutes when Nathan and her mom showed up.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, walking up to Haley.

Haley looked at her dad worriedly. "Haley, why don't you go home and get some rest. It's almost midnight and you two must be exhausted." Lydia said, looking at her and Nathan. "Sorry Nathan, we only have three rooms in the house so you can sleep in Haley's room," she said giving Nathan a wink.

"Oh my God I can't believe I came out from her womb. Mom you're just as bad as Dad," she wailed making everybody laugh. "Ok Dad, I'm gonna go. I'll come back tomorrow morning ok. I love you." She gave her parents a kiss and started to walk out with Nathan.

"Bye Haley Bop. And get the white dress ready," she heard her dad call out, making her roll her eyes.

"What was that all about?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Nothing," she said as she gave her dad one last look before leaving.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi guys. Thanks a lot for the reviews for the last chapter. Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this one. Ok I'm not gonna say anything much, so here's the next chapter. I hope you'll like and you won't feel like killing me too much. Sorry this one's a bit short. Keep the reviews coming guys. Cheers! ;)**

* * *

Chapter 16

Nathan leaned one shoulder against the doorway of Haley's room as he watched her unpack. "Haley, I can sleep on the couch in the living room if you want. It's totally fine."

She looked up from her unpacking and looked at his handsome face. "No, it's ok. You can sleep here. I don't want you to hurt your back sleeping on the couch."

"Is that the only reason?" he asked and was followed by a moment of silence.

"Emmm...I'm gonna go get something to eat. Do you wanna come? You need to eat something before you take your pills anyway," she said, avoiding his question.

Nathan looked at her in surprise. That was the first time she mentioned the pills since he told her. "Yeah, sure," he said and followed her into the kitchen. They ate in silence until Nathan spoke. "Wow I've forgotten what a good cook your mom is. This fish pie is so good."

"Yeah, I've missed her cooking," she said as she had another helping. "She really knows how to fatten us up. Do you want some more?"

"Oh yeah," he said as he offered his plate. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm ok I guess. My dad's gonna be ok, thank God."

Suddenly Taylor appeared, interrupting their conversation. "Hi guys. Midnight snack? Hales! Don't finish everything you pig. Leave me some!" she said as she took a plate out. "So what's new with you guys, besides the cancer and the baby. Anything else I'm missing out?" she asked nonchalantly as she ate.

"Insensitive much?" Haley said, giving her sister an angry look. Taylor had always been the fireball in the family, but she had a good heart.

"What?" She gave them an innocent look as Nathan stared at her in disbelief. "Oh come on. You both know that in the end you're still gonna end up together right, so why did I sense a weirdness between you two justnow?" She turned to Nathan and asked, "Nathan, what did you do this time?"

"I...we...she...you know what? I'm beat. I'm gonna go to bed." He started to get up and got out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.

Haley gritted her teeth and turned to her sister. "Taylor! Oh my God! I have a crazy family. You know what? I'm starting to think I was adopted."

Taylor laughed. "Relax Hales. Did you see the look on his face? Priceless. But seriously, what's new with you?"

"You know, you're lucky I love you or you'll be joining Dad in the hospital." She sighed. "Well if you must know, we're going through a rough patch right now. Happy?"

"Are you crazy? You know I'm nuts about you two. Wanna tell me what's going on?" she asked.

"It's complicated Tay. Let's not worry your pretty little head with my problems."

"With you guys, it's always complicated. Come on, tell me." Haley know her sister would not back down until she told her, so she did and for once, Taylor didn't interrupt her. After a few minutes, she looked at Haley and whistled. "Wow, that is complicated. How do you feel?"

"I dunno Tay. It's like I'm feeling every emotion known to mankind right now. We haven't really had a chance to talk about it, which is a relief. I mean, I know we're gonna have to but I just need some time to think you know?"

Taylor got up from her chair and said, "well, I'm sure you guys will be ok. I know you guys are still crazy about each other. Nathan's a good guy Hales. You gotta be really dumb if you let him go. Hell, if he were my boyfriend, I wouldn't mind him being...you know. More sex, less worrying about being pregnant. He's hot!"

"Taylor!!" Hales screamed as she chased her sister out of the kitchen.

* * *

By the time Haley got back to her bedroom, Nathan was already sleeping. She gingerly walked over to her side of the bed laid down, wiling sleep to come. She felt him stir beside her and turned to look. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, not really. I couldn't sleep either," he said as he stared at the ceiling.

"Sorry about Taylor. You know what she's like."

He turned to her and grinned. "Yeah I know what she's like. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah she gets worse everytime I see her," she said shaking her head. She shifted her body so she was facing him. "Nathan, can you hold me?" she asked softly.

"You know you didn't have to ask Hales," he whispered as he gathered her into his arms. "Are you cold?" he asked when he felt her shiver.

She laid her head on her chest and said, "A little bit."

"Come here." Nathan pulled the blanket higher and pulled her closer. "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks. You know what, you've always made me feel safe, like I have nothing to worry about when I'm with you," he heard her say sleepily before she dozed off. He looked at her sleeping form and continued to stare at the ceiling before closing his own eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Haley blinked a few times to get used to the morning sunlight and stifled a yawn. She sat up to find that Nathan was already up. "Good morning."

"Hey, good morning. You looked so tired I didn't want to wake you up. Ready to get up now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I'd better. I give it twenty minutes before Taylor comes in and bugs us."

Nathan laughed. "Want me to lock the door for you?"

She grinned. "No it's ok. As crazy as it sounds, I've missed her." There was a moment of silence before she continued, "and I've missed your laugh."

He sighed. "Yeah, there's nothing much to laugh about lately, is there? You should get ready. I think I heard your mom say she was going to see your dad in fifteen minutes."

"Wait a minute. Didn't she spend the night at the hospital?" she asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, she did. She came back to make breakfast. Your mom sure is something else."

She stretched her arms over her head before reluctantly got up from the bed. "Have you showered?"

"Nah, I just got up ten minutes before you did. You can go first if you want. I'll wait."

She looked at him and said, "why don't you join me?" She saw him hesitate. "Nathan?"

His answer took her by surprise. "No, I think I'm gonna go get a glass of water. I'm kinda thirsty."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly. Her question was left unanswered when she heard a knock on the door. "Oh hi Mom."

"Good morning, honey. Hi Nathan. Did you guys sleep well?" she said and kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeah we did. Are you gonna see dad now?"

"Yeah, and Taylor's coming with me. But you don't have to hurry. You can take the other car, ok? I'll see you later. Love you," Lydia said before closing the door.

"Ok, I love you Mom," Haley said and turned to Nathan. "I should go take a shower. We're gonna be late," she said before stepping into the shower, waiting for Nathan to come, and he never did.

* * *

"Hey, look who's here!" Jimmy James exclaimed when he saw Haley and Nathan arrive.

She smiled and gave her dad a hug. "Hi dad. How are you feeling today?"

"A lot better and the doctor said I could get out earlier, like in a couple of days."

"That's great! Well, mom, looks like Dad's gonna start terrorizing you and Taylor again," she said grinning.

Taylor groaned. "Yeah, I'm so looking forward to that. Hey, Hales maybe you and Nathan can stay here for a couple more days. What do you say?" Haley and Nathan exchanged looks.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Lydia said looking at the both of them. "Come on, we haven't seen you in ages and I'm sure Lucas can tell Turner."

"I guess I can do that. I'm not sure about Nathan though. Maybe he's got somewhere else to go?" Haley looked at him questioningly.

Nathan gave her a suspicious look and said, "thanks for the offer Mrs. James. That sounds great."

"Excellent! Now I've got two more people to terrorize," Jimmy said laughing, making everybody groan. "Come on, your mom made some waffles for breakfast. How does waffle sound?"

Nathan and Haley looked at each other, remembering that morning when Nathan tried to make them waffle for breakfast and stifled their laugh. He cleared his throat and said, "yeah waffle sounds great Mr. James."

"Wait, hang on. What's this? Mr. James? You almost became my son-in-law and I'm sure you will be someday, so stop this Mr. James nonsense. Call me Jimmy." Nathan looked at him guiltily and nodded silently.

"Dad stop it. Don't do that," Haley said in a small voice.

"Do what? You know I'm right, Haley Bop-"

"Dad I said stop it!" Everyone turned to look at, shocked at her outburst. "I'm sorry. I think I'm gonna step outside for some fresh air." Before they could say anything, she had left the room.

Nathan took a look around the room, unsure of what to do, and seeing Lydia was eyeing him said, "Emmmm...I'm gonna see if she's alright."

Lydia looked at Taylor her arms akimbo. "Wanna tell me what that's all about?" She gave her a shrug. "Don't give me that, Taylor. Something's upsetting her and I think you know, so you can start telling me right now."

* * *

He found her outside sitting on a bench at the mini park on the hospital ground. He sat next to her quietly and waited for her to make the first move. It was a perfect day to to be out, except that he didn't feel so perfect right now.

"Nathan, can I ask you something?" she said, breaking the silence. She didn't wait for his answer before continuing, "you were gonna leave again, weren't you? I heard Lucas mentioning something about New York, and I found your plane ticket in your bag yesterday."

"Haley, I-"

She turned to face him and said, "you were what? You're going to run away again, just like you did the last time?"

"Hales, you don't understand."

"What? What don't I understand?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears and she felt her lower lip tremble. "I understand why you didn't want to tell me about the pills. I understand that you didn't want me to be upset. I just don't understand why you feel like you have to keep running. You promised me that you were never gonna leave me again. Always and forever, remember? Except you never said forever was gonna be this short."

He placed his hand on his face and wiped her tears away. "I know Hales. But I've hurt you enough. I shouldn't have made that promise. It was my fault we lost the baby. And the thought of me not being able to make you pregnant again...I just...I couldn't do that to you. You deserve better. You deserve to be happy. And I'm not sure I can give you that happiness. And I wasn't sure that you wanted to stay with me knowing what you know now. I just don't want you to resent me later."

"Which part of 'I love you' don't you understand Nathan?" she asked, her tears now streaming down her face unchecked. "How could you possibly think that I wouldn't want to be with you? I'm here for you Nathan. You want to know what makes me happy? You. You make me happy. It has always been you."

He looked into her eyes as he felt his own tears fall. "What makes you so sure I can make you happy?"

"Because you have always given me everything I've ever wanted. I'm not saying it's not gonna hard, but we need to stop punishing ourselves for what's happened. There's been too much hurt between us and I think we need to get past that. I forgave you for leaving me and you told me not to stop having faith in us, so why are you doing this? I want to be with you. I love you, Nathan."

He closed his eyes and didn't say anything as he took in everything she said, and she mistook it as a sign of defeat. A few moments later she heard her continue, "I just wish you would just stop running away everytime there's a problem. I wish you would start fighting for us. I've waited so long for you to come back to me but if you are not willing to fight, then what the hell was I waiting for? " she asked and looked at him. "Maybe I do deserve better," she said, her voice hollow before getting up, leaving him alone.

* * *

"Hi Mom, hi Dad. Sorry I took off justnow," she said sheepishly as she entered her dad's room. Her parents and Taylor were looking at her expectantly. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just that I take your tear stained face as a sign of something bad. Are you ok honey?" Lydia asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Haley Bop, Taylor told me about you and Nathan," Jimmy said. Haley looked at her sister angrily, who was looking guiltier by the minute. "Don't blame your sister. We practically threatened to kick her out of the house if she didn't tell us."

"Yeah, don't blame me. I don't wanna to be homeless."

"Whatever Dad. I told you, don't worry about it." She turned to Lydia and tried to change the subject. "So when did the doctor say Dad can get out again?"

"He said the day after tomorrow. So are you and Nathan staying?"

"I guess I can stay till the weekend. I'm not sure about Nathan."

"Haley-"

"Mom, can we not talk about this? I said I'm fine."

Lydia put up her hands in surrender. "Ok I'm not gonna say anything, but I'm here if you want to talk about it." Just then Nathan appeared at the doorway. "Nathan, glad to have you back. Look I'm gonna go home and make lunch. Haley told me she'll be staying till the weekend. Can we count on you to stay as well?"

Haley looked at him, her eyes expressionless. She told herself not to care anymore. _If he doesn't care about us, why should I care? _But his reply surprised him. "Yeah I'm gonna stay."

Lydia gave him a warm smile. "That's my boy. Why don't you call Deb later and tell her you're gonna be here for a couple more days? Oh and speaking of Deb, she told me that your cooking skills have improved, something about chicken noodle? Why don't you come home with me and help me make that? Taylor, do you wanna stay with Dad?"

Taylor grinned. "Yeah, I think so. I think I've had enough of drama for one day. I think I'm gonna hide out with Dad, whaddaya say Dad?"

"I say good choice," Jimmy grinned back. "Haley why don't you help your mom this time?"

"But I wanna stay too," she whined.

"Oh no you don't. You missy are coming with me. Nathan, give Taylor the car key. You guys are coming home with me," Lydia said before giving the both of them a look which said not to argue.

"Fine I'll go with you," Haley said resignedly. "Bye Dad," she said before following Lydia and tried to avert Nathan's gaze. Nathan sighed and put his hands in his jeans pocket before meekly following them out. _It's gonna be a long week._

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone. Wow 200 reviews! You guys rock! I wasn't so sure if you guys would like the last chapter but judging from the reviews I guess you did, though I apologize for making your heads spin with all the Naley drama. Anyway enough blabber, here's the next chapter, I'm pretty nervous about your reactions so like I always, doesn't matter if you like or hate it, just let me know ok. Cheers!  
**

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Chapter 17

Haley watched glumly at Nathan helping Lydia make chicken noodle for her Dad. This was so like her mom, wanting to meddle into everything. "Ok, you're almost there. Just put in some salt and pepper and you're done," she heard him giving instructions to her mom.

"Oh my God. Deb was right. This tastes so good. Haley, you wanna try some?" Lydia as she took a spoonful of the broth.

"No thanks. I've tried it before and yes, it is good," she said, not wanting to be part of their bonding session.

"Wow, somebody's in a bad mood," Lydia said, nudging Nathan and giving him a wink. "Ok, I'm gonna pack this up and bring this to the hospital. Why don't you two kids stay home. Dad can practically do cartwheels right now so there's no reason for you guys to come with me. I'll be back before dinner." Lydia gave her daughter a warning look when she saw the hint of protest on her face. "Nathan, why don't you take Haley around town. It's just twenty minutes walk from here. Go out. Have some fun ok?"

Nathan looked at Haley, his eyes never leaving her face as he waited for her to say no which didn't come. "Ok." He heard Lydia say. "Be good kids. Don't tear the house down. Bye!" And without a backward glance, she was gone.

Haley went to the sink and busied herself with the dishes when he felt Nathan came up behind her. "So...do you want to go out?"

She felt herself shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I'm a bit tired. I think I'm just gonna stay home. Why don't you go?" she said without looking at him.

He leaned himself against the kitchen counter and looked at her face, void of all expression. "No, I think I'll stay home with you."

"Fine," she said. "Do whatever you want."

"Fine," he answered and went to the living room and switched on the tv. A few minutes later, he heard the doorbell ring and reluctantly got up to answer the door, revealing a handsome guy. "Hi, are you looking for somebody?"

"Yeah, is Haley home?" the stranger asked.

Nathan looked at him confused and turned to take a peek in the kitchen. "Yeah, she is. Who shall I say wants to see her?"

"Emmm...it's Jason, a friend of hers."

Nathan continued to look at him dubiously before yelling, "Hales!" his eyes never leaving Jason's face as he scrutinized him.

"What do you want?" she asked irritatedly and came to the door. Her mouth went wide open when she saw who was was asking for her. "Oh my God! Jason! Is that you?" she asked before giving Jason a hug. "What are you doing here?"

Nathan looked at them curiously. "You two really know each other?"

Haley's face was beaming. "Yeah, we were friends when we were kids until Jason's family moved away when were were seven. That was before I knew Lucas...and you."

"Oh."

She smacked Jason playfully on the arm and asked, "what are you doing here? You moved away ages ago and suddenly you show up here? Pretty brave of you. Do you want to come in?"

Jason smiled at her and said, "didn't your parents tell you? We just moved here a couple of months ago. Anyway, I heard your dad got into an accident. How is he?"

"Oh he's doing great. He should be discharged tomorrow."

"That's great. Well, I just stopped by to ask about him and I thought I saw you yesterday but I wasn't sure. Well, I guess I'd better be going." Nathan watched the exchange silently and felt himself clenching his fists. _Yeah I think you'd better go, pal._

"What? Hang on. We haven't seen each other in years. We have some catching up to do. You're not escaping that easily," Haley said, completely ignoring Nathan standing beside her.

Jason laughed. "Still feisty I see. Do you remember the bump on the head you gave me when I stole your doll?" Nathan rolled his eyes inwardly. _Oh for God's sake! __Come on! Is he for real? _"Ok. There's this coffee place in town where we can go, if that's ok with your boyfriend?" he asked, looking at Nathan.

"Wait a minute. I thought you were tired and didn't want to go out," Nathan heard himself say.

Haley looked at him, slight annoyance on her face. "Well, I did want to go out. But not with you." She then turned to Jason. "And he's not my boyfriend. Actually I'm not exactly sure what he is. Come on, let's go."

Jason looked at the both of them, unsure of what to do, aware of Nathan's eyes boring on him. "Ok if you say so. I'll have her back home in a couple of hours," he said to Nathan before leaving with Haley, leaving Nathan staring at them both. _What the hell was that about?_

* * *

He started pacing in the living room. _Where the hell is she? She's gone for hours. _Suddenly he heard a car pull into the driveway and he practically ran to the door, only to see Lydia and Taylor. "Oh hi Mrs. James."

Lydia looked at him curiously. "Hi Nathan. Were you expecting anybody? Where's Haley?"

"She ummm...she went out with Jason?" he said, looking at Lydia for clarification and heard Taylor snicker behind her.

"Jason came here? Wow this is gonna be interesting."

Lydia gave her daughter a look of warning and turned to Nathan, giving him a smile. "Oh she's with Jason. You shouldn't worry then. She's in good hands. They were inseparable when they were kids. He was always looking out for her," she said as she entered the house., Taylor following closely behind. The mischievous look on Taylor's face didn't escape Nathan.

He stood in her way just as she was passing by him and asked, "what? What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said giving him an innocent look. "Except that you practically drove her away and into the arms of the boy who's had the crush on her since they were like...babies. Wait a minute. That is pretty funny," she said walking past Nathan and giving him a pat on the back. "Good luck."

Nathan groan inwardly. _This is just great. I am an idiot! _"Taylor, hang on. How big was the crush?"

Taylor put a finger on her chin and closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. "Let me see. Would you call running into our backyard and hiding in our treehouse the day they were supposed to move because he didn't want to leave 'his one true love' a big crush? Yeah, I think it was pretty big. By the way, I don't think he has a girlfriend." She snickered. "Finally some entertainment around here," she said, giving him a wink as she walked by.

* * *

They were having dinner when Haley finally came home. "Hi mom. Sorry I'm late. I just lost track of the time."

Lydia watched her bounce into the kitchen. "It's ok. We were just starting dinner. Grab a chair." She took a seat opposite Nathan, feeling his eyes on her. "How was your day? How's Jason?"

"It was great. Why didn't you tell me that Jason moved here?"

"Well, I guess it just slipped my mind," she said, scooping some of the mashed potato onto Haley's plate. "If you must know, Nathan was really worried about you."

Nathan dragged his eyes away from Haley's face and looked at Lydia. "Mrs. James, I wasn't-"

"Wasn't constantly checking your watch? You couldn't sit still, you looked like you've got ants in your pants."

Haley looked at Nathan uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "How's dad?"

"He's doing great. Mom's picking him up from the hospital tomorrow," Taylor said. "So what did you with Jason today?" she asked, looking at Haley with raised eyebrows.

"Nothing, we just talked. Did you know that he's a lawyer and has his own firm?"

"Yeah we did," Taylor said. "We do live in the same neighbourhood, you know?" The rest of the family continued to chatter as Nathan played with the food on his plate glumly.

* * *

"I didn't know you had it in you," Taylor said, giving Haley a nudge. They were in the kitchen cleaning up, and Nathan was in the living room, out of earshot.

"Had what?" Haley asked, looking at her searchingly.

"You're trying to make Nathan jealous, aren't you? Good plan, Hales except that you do know that it could backfire, right?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not trying to make Nathan jealous."

"Well, whatever it is you're doing, or not doing, it's working. He looked like he was about to explode waiting for you to come home." Taylor looked over her shoulder and looked at Nathan watching the news.

Haley sighed and turned to her. "Look, he practically made it clear that he didn't want us to be together. And what's the big deal? It's just Jason."

"Yeah right. You know what they say about the first boy who pulled your hair. Anyway, did Nathan really tell you that he didn't want you guys to be together?"

Haley shrugged. "Well, not really but it seemed like it." She noticed Taylor was watching her. "Ok fine. I was angry at him and Jason came at the right time, so I kinda thought it would be a good idea to make him jealous."

"You conniving bitch!" Taylor grinned. "So you do still love him, right?"

"Of course I still love him Tay. I probably will until the day I die but he's been playing this game on me, and I think it's about time he knows what it's like to lose."

"Ooooooohhh can I play too? Please!" Taylor pleaded. "I promise I'll make Team Haley win."

Haley looked at her suspiciously. She knew that Taylor was a trouble magnet, but she also knew that she could always count on her to watch her back. "Ok fine. But you need to run everything by me first before you do anything, got it?"

Taylor gave her a mock salute. "Ay ay captain. This is gonna be so much fun. Nathan's such an idiot he won't know what hit him," she said, rubbing her hands gleefully.

* * *

Haley stepped out of the shower and jumped in surprise when she saw Nathan sitting on the edge of the bed watching her. "God Nathan! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry. So...did you really have fun with this Jason guy? What did you guys do?"

"Like I said before, we just talked. I forget how funny he is. You know what? We should go out together sometime. He kinda asked me out for dinner tomorrow night. Do you wanna join us?"

"Yeah, sure," he immediately answered. _There's no way in hell you're going out with my girl alone again. _"Hales? He's just a friend right?"

Haley looked at his handsome face, distraught with worry and almost caved in. "Yeah, he's just a friend. Although the funny thing is, he told me justnow that he had a crush on me when we were kids. Made me laugh so hard when I heard that I almost fell off my chair."

"Yeah, hilarious," he said under his breath. "I'm gonna take a shower," he said as he got up.

"Nathan, have you taken your medication?" He shook his head. "I'm gonna get you a glass of water ok. I'll be back in five minutes."

A few minutes later, she returned to her room bringing a glass of water and found Nathan already showered. "Here you go," she said handing him the glass of water.

"Thanks." He took it from her, feeling her fingers brushing against his and popped the pills into his mouth.

She saw him watching her from the corner of her eye. "Are you alright? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...Hales, am I not your boyfriend?" he asked her softly.

The question caught her by surprise. She recovered her composure and looked at him steadily. "I dunno. You tell me. I'm like riding on this never ending roller-coaster ride with you Nathan, and I don't know if it's ever going to stop. One minute I was getting married to you, the next minute you were gone. Another minute you were back and we were happy, the next minute I found out you were gonna leave again. So you tell me, because I really have no clue."

"Haley, I know that I haven't been fair to you-"

"You're damn right you haven't Nathan. You keep feeding me hope and just when I thought things were going great between us, you pull the rug from underneath me. It's like I keep going round and round an endless circle with you. Everybody seems to believe that we were going to end up together. The only problem is that everybody does not include me anymore, and I know for a fact that it doesn't include you." She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at him frustratedly. "You know what, I think I'm gonna sleep with Taylor tonight. You can have my bed," she said and turned to go. Before she could make it to the door, she felt Nathan grabbing her arm, turning her to face him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"You wanted me to fight for you. This is what I'm doing. I'm fighting for you," he said holding her gaze before crushing her lips in a kiss so tender, it almost took her breath away.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said shakily, her face full of wonder as she looked up to him.

"I wanted to," he said as he tenderly tucked away a stray hair from her face.

"I said you shouldn't have done that," she said before opening the door, leaving him standing alone in the empty room.

* * *

"God you're right. This could so backfire and bite me in the ass." Haley covered her face with her hands as she sat on Taylor's bed. "What the hell was I thinking?"

Taylor laughed. "Relax, little sister. You're on a roll and we've only got a few more days to do this before you go back to Tree Hill. So tell me what happened again? He said he was gonna fight for you and then he gave you a mind blowing kiss?"

"I didn't say mind blowing. I just said he kissed me."

"Yeah right. This is Nathan we're talking about. I bet his kisses are all mind blowing," she said dreamily.

Haley gave her a huge smack. "Tay! You're not helping!"

"Ow! Damn, where did you learn to hit so hard? Ok, look you said that you're going out with Jason again tomorrow night, right?" Haley nodded. "And Nathan's going with you, right?" Haley nodded again. "Do you have anything hot to wear tomorrow night?"

"What? No! What kind of a question was that? I came back coz Dad's in the hospital. What would I need a hot dress for?"

"For emergencies like this. Didn't I teach you anything?" Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "Ok you can borrow one of mine. So we need to really doll you up tomorrow night, and lucky for you I'm an expert in this. Oooooohhh can I come for the dinner. There might be a fist fight."

"Taylor, seriously."

"I'm serious. Come on, Mom's gonna be busy looking after Dad. I'm gonna be so bored I could die. What do you say?" Taylor said, batting her eyelashes, knowing that Haley would give in.

"Fine, but don't you dare try anything funny," Haley said, giving her a warning look.

"Scout's honour," Taylor promised, and grinned gleefully. "Ok I'm gonna sleep now. Big day tomorrow. Are you gonna sleep here or do you want me to throw you out?"

"Move you fat ass Tay. I'm sleeping here," Haley said as she tried to make herself comfortable on Taylor's bed.

"Smart move Hales. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she mumbled and tried not to think too much about tomorrow.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi guys! I'm back with the next chapter. I'm not sure I'll be able to update as frequently next week coz my classes are starting soon, but I've only got a few chapters left so no need to worry. Anyway, enjoy this one and leave me some love. Cheers!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Nathan spent the night staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Not without Haley next to him. Not with images of Haley and Jason in his head. With a sigh, he pulled off the covers and got up, walking towards the window, watching the full moon outside. The sound of the door creaking made him turn around, only to find Haley standing there. "I'm sorry, I wanted to get something," he heard her whisper. "What are you doing up?"

"I...I couldn't sleep." He saw her walking towards her and he held his breath, wanting so much to touch her. "I'm losing you, aren't I? You're gonna leave me," he said softly, the thought of it made his heart ache. She touched his cheek tentatively, and he closed his eyes at her touch as silent tears started to fall. "Please don't...don't leave me Hales."

"I'm not leaving you Nathan. But you're constantly leaving me. I don't think I can live my life in constant fear of waking up one day and finding you gone."

"I love you Hales. How could I sleep when all I could think of was you and wondering if you still love me, wondering if I was still in your heart."

Haley came closer to him and put her head on his chest. "Always and forever Nathan. That's what sucks. This bracelet that you gave me for my birthday, I've never taken it off because I wanted so much to believe in your promise, but it gets harder and harder every day when you don't believe it yourself." He stroked her hair, loving the scent of her. "I have to go," she said looking up at his handsome face. "You should get some sleep."

"Stay with me tonight," he urged as he looked into her eyes, and sensing her hesitation, slowly bent his head and touched his lips to hers, daring her to back away. He heard her sigh softly as she touched his cheek, pulling him closer. Their lips met in a kiss so tender, so full of promise. "We don't have to do anything, just...just stay with me."

"Ok, I'll stay with you," she said as she took his hand and led him to her bed. They laid down, side by side facing each other, her fingers slowly stroking his cheek, lulling him to sleep. She saw his eyes droop sleepily and waited until he dozed up before kissing his cheek gently. "Goodnight Nathan. I love you," she whispered before getting up. She walked over to the foot of the bed and picked up his t-shirt, drawing it to her face as he took in his scent and brought it with her to Taylor's room.

* * *

Nathan walked into the kitchen as his eyes searched for Haley and found her at the fridge, her head lost somewhere in between the milk cartons and the juice bottles. He touched her waist making her jump. "Dammit Nathan! Don't do that!" He laughed at her reaction. "Are you hungry? I'll make you some scrambled eggs if you want."

"Yeah, scrambled eggs sound good. Where is everybody?" he asked, noticing that the house was silent, hoping that they were alone.

"My mom's at the hospital to pick up dad, and Taylor-"

She didn't get to finish he sentence when Taylor came bouncing into the kitchen, "Morning guys! Ooooohhh you're making scrambled eggs. Can I have some? And Hales, could you grate some cheese in it? You know I like scrambled eggs with cheese. Thanks!"

"What? Go make your own and you can put whatever you want in it."

"Oh come on Hales. You're making one for Nathan."

Haley looked at her irritatedly. "Do you have to annoy me so early in the morning?"

Taylor grinned. "Of course. I don't get to annoy you so much anymore, so I'm grabbing the chance whenever I can. So sue me!"

Nathan watched the exchange, his face full of amusement. Suddenly Haley's cell phone rang. "Oh hi Jason." Just hearing his name made him tense as he watched Haley carefully. "Yeah, dinner tonight. Oh and Nathan and Taylor are joining us if that's alright with you. Great. We'll see you tonight." She looked at Nathan and said, "that was Jason."

"Yeah, I know," he said, trying hard not to grit his teeth. "Ummm...where are we meeting him?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"At this restaurant called 'The Fatty Crab'?" Haley said looking at Taylor. "Know where that is?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Of course I know where it is. Funny that he picked such a romantic place for dinner. I bet he must have been disappointed when he heard that me and Nathan are joining you guys."

_It's a romantic place? That damned bastard. _Nathan tried hard to concentrate on the breakfast Haley made for him. "This is good Hales. Thanks."

Haley gave him a warm smile. "No problem. Now eat up. I'm gonna clean the house and get it ready before Mom and Dad come home. Taylor, are you gonna help me?" she asked, looking at Taylor expectantly.

"No thanks. Me and housework don't really get along. I gotta go to the office anyway. I've been missing a lot of work days already."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you're working at that ad agency. Hard to imagine though you lifting your fingers to do actual work though," Haley said sarcastically.

"Funny har har Hales. Ok I gotta go. Thanks for breakfast. Nathan, try to keep your hands off my sister ok." She gave him a naughty wink before letting herself out.

"Kinda hard not to," Haley heard him mumble. She looked at him curiously.

"Hard not to what?"

"Keep my hands off you." He gave her a grin and started to clean up the table. "Come on, I'll help you clean the house. What do you want me to do?"

She looked at him gratefully. "Oh thank you so much. Well, why don't you clean up the kitchen while I work on the living room." She gave him the tea towel and he grabbed it pulling her to him as he did so.

"Nathan, stop it! I've got a lot of work to do," she said as she struggled against him.

He gave her smirk. "I know. I'm giving you a little pick-me-up before you do," he said and started to kiss her, capturing her lips in a deep kiss, tempting her to part her lips and she did. They moaned at the contact as Nathan playfully flicked his tongue against hers, knowing that it would drive her wild.

"Nathan-" she breathed against his lips. "I really have a lot of work to do." She felt him nod, his lips never leaving her.

"I know," he whispered. "I've got work to do too. I'm making sure you stay mine." He reluctantly lifted his lips from hers and looked deeply into her eyes before letting her go, loving the look of surprise and wonder on her face. "Come on, your parents will be back soon. We'd better get started," he said nonchalantly, as if the few minutes before never happened.

Haley continued to stare at him as he turned his back on her, slowly whistling as he did the dishes.

* * *

"Welcome home Dad," Haley said as Jimmy pulled her into his arms. "Are you ok? Do you need help walking?"

"Stop fussing Haley. I'm fine. Wow the house looks great. You did this all by yourself?" he asked looking around the clean house. He knew how neat his daughter was and was not surprised if she really did clean the house herself.

"Not really. Nathan helped me."

Lydia looked at Nathan approvingly. "Good man. So what time are you guys going out tonight?" she asked, immediately wiping the smile away from Nathan's face.

"We're supposed to meet Jason at eight, so I guess we'll go at seven thirty," Haley said looking at Nathan for confirmation. He nodded silently wishing that they never had to go.

"Excellent!" Jimmy said. "So I've got a few hours left to torture you. What shall I do first? I know, Haley, lead me to my throne."

"In your dreams dad." Haley laughed, shaking her head at her father. "Hey mom, I've already made lunch so you can just heat it up later. I'm going up to my room for a nap. Is that alright?"

"Yeah go on. Thanks honey. I don't know what I'd do without you. Taylor is...well...useless," Lydia said making Haley laughed. She knew that her two daughters were as different as night and day, but she loved them equally. "Nathan, aren't you going up as well?" she asked with raised eyebrow.

Nathan tried hard not to laugh at her question. He constantly marveled at Haley's parents' ability to make him feel both uncomfortable and completely at ease at the same time. "Yeah, I think I need a shower after all the hard work Haley made me do. You've raised a drill sergeant, Mrs. James," he said and was awarded with a smack from Haley.

"Hey, you offered to help so stop complaining like a baby," she said as she quickly ascended the stairs, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Jimmy looked at the two of them adoringly. "Aw, you two are so cute I could marry you right now."

"Dad!" he heard Haley screaming at him from the top of the stairs, making him snicker. "Nathan, go quick before she locks the door."

Nathan laughed and made his way up to her room. He found Haley looking confused as she tried to decide what to wear for the dinner that night. When he saw the dresses Haley was holding, he almost choked.

"Hales, which one are you wearing tonight?" he asked, looking in disbelief at the revealing red dress in her right hand and the equally short black dress in her left hand.

"I dunno. What do you think?" she said holding them up so he could choose.

"Neither. They're too sexy. Don't you have something else to wear?"

Haley ignored his question and said, "I think I'll wear the red one." She gave the red dress a satisfactory look and hung the dresses in her closet.

He walked over to her and took her hands. "Hales, maybe we don't have to go out tonight. How about I take you out for dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us," he said looking hopefully at her.

"But I've already promised Jason. Why? Are you jealous?" she asked mischievously.

"Damn right I am. Hales, don't do this. I know you said that he's just a friend and I trust you. I just don't trust him," he said pleadingly.

"Nathan, he's not gonna do anything. You're gonna be there too, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Ok fine," he said grudgingly as he let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Are you gonna sleep?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired." He nodded and started to step into the shower and removed his clothes. He turned on the shower letting the water rain on him as he tried to push tonight out of his head.

* * *

"Taylor! I swear to God if you're not down here in five seconds, we're leaving you!" Haley yelled at her sister as she and Nathan waited for her to come down. They were already five minutes late although Nathan didn't look too concerned at Taylor's tardiness.

"Ok ok. Geez, hold your horses woman. Can't wait to see Jason huh?" she said, winking mischievously at Nathan. Nathan gritted his teeth thinking that if it wasn't for the fact that she was Haley's sister, he would definitely strangle her. "Wow, you look awesome."

Haley did look awesome, Nathan thought and it worried him. She had really decided to wear the red dress, with matching red stilettos, the dress clinging to her body at all the right places. "Finally. Mom! Dad! We're going."

Lydia looked at the kids and said, "ok, have fun kids. Send my regards to Jason will you. And Nathan, look after the girls will you?"

Nathan smiled. "Of course I will Mrs. James," he said and was surprised when she gave him a motherly kiss on his cheek saying, "she's not going anywhere Nathan." He nodded nervously before walking over to Haley and held her waist as he led him out of the door.

The Fatty Crab was a quaint little restaurant and true to Taylor's words, had a romantic atmosphere surrounding it. It was already filled with people by the time they arrived and luckily Jason already had a table waiting for them, waving his hands excitedly as he saw them coming in. Haley went up to him and gave him a hug, "hi Jason. It's good to see you again."

Jason pulled her close and whispered, "so did he buy it?" She pulled herself away and smiled, giving him the answer he needed. He then turned to give Taylor a hug before looking at Nathan and held out his hand. "Hi Nathan. Nice of you to join us."

Nathan took his hand and shook it firmly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said as sat himself next to Haley and put his hand on her lap. "So I hear the food's good. What do you recommend?" he said trying to make conversation. They started to chat comfortably while eating their dinner.

"Wow you were right Taylor. The food's really good," Haley said as she happily munched on her lobster. She saw Nathan nod in agreement from the corner of her eye and turned to him and smiled, giving his leg a little squeeze.

Nathan was starting to change his opinion on Jason when he heard him ask, "So Nathan, how do you know Haley?" Jason said looking at him expectantly.

Nathan gulped down his food and cleared his throat. "Well, me and my brother, Lucas have known Haley since we were kids, I suppose right after you left Tree Hill, and we emmmm...we almost got married last year," he said looking at his plate uncomfortably.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean almost? Wow, how could anyone almost marry Haley James?" Jason gave him a bewildered look as he looked at Haley adoringly.

Nathan slowly put his fork down. "Well, not that it was any of your business-" he started to say before Haley interrupted them.

"Guys, let's not talk about that now ok. Let's just enjoy the dinner."

Taylor looked at Haley sitting opposite her in disappointment. "Sssshhh...Haley, stop interrupting. Didn't you know that it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking." Haley gave her a warning look which managed to shut her up.

Jason laughed. "It's ok Taylor. So Nathan, any plans to actually marry this beautiful girl, because if not I know plenty of guys, me included who would love to try," he said meeting Nathan's steely look.

"Look Jason, I appreciate you inviting us for dinner but I think you should really mind your own business," Nathan said, his voice seething with anger. He felt Haley shift uncomfortably beside him and automatically placed his hand around her waist possessively.

Jason put up her hands in surrender and said, "Ok, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That was out of line." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before he said to Haley, "so Hales. Do you still play the piano? There's one over there. How about a duet, for old time's sake?"

Haley laughed. "I dunno Jason, I'm a bit rusty but what the heck, come on." She started to get up before Nathan could protest and he only managed to watch the two of them laughing as they walked towards the piano.

"They used to do that a lot when they were kids. When they were together, it was like nothing in the world mattered. They totally got each other like no one else could," Taylor said as Nathan continued to watch over them like a hawk. "Hey Nate, are you alright? You look like a bit peaked."

"What are you doing Taylor?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from Haley and looked at Taylor in the eyes.

Taylor looked at him innocently. "What? I'm not doing anything. The real question is, what are you doing? Are you really just gonna sit here and not do anything while some other guy has fun with Haley?" Nathan kept silent at her question as Haley made her way back to the table, a smile still etched on her face.

Nathan continued to eat in silence, wishing the night would end soon and ending his misery. Finally he heard Haley say, "oh my God. I'm too full to get up. You're making me fat Jason."

Jason laughed. "You'll still look beautiful, Haley. Trust me." Nathan rolled his eyes wishing he could punch him in the face. "I'll get the bill. This was fun. We should definitely do this again," he said looking at Nathan.

"Yeah sure. Thanks for dinner Jason," Nathan said politely.

Jason paid the bill and started to get up. "Come on, I'll walk with you guys."

The night was beautiful with the sky being decorated with a thousand stars. _This would be so romantic if not for these other two idiots. _Nathan walked glumly watching Haley and Taylor walking in front of him. He was surprised when he felt Jason walk beside him.

"You're an idiot Nathan," he heard Jason say to him.

He looked at Jason inquiringly. "Oh yeah? How so?"

"Are you kidding me? You left her at the altar? Yeah she told told me about you guys," he said seeing the look of surprise on Nathan's face. "It's amazing that she's giving you chances after chances. All I can say is, don't screw up this time Nathan. You won't get off that easily the next time. You know who she'll come running to if you do." He patted Nathan on the back before joining the two girls, one arm around Haley's shoulders, leaving Nathan staring at him, his mouth slightly open.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi guys! This is my last chapter before my classes start again tomorrow so like I said, I'm not sure how often I can update but I'll try and do it as often as I can ok. Some mixed reactions to Jason in the last chapter which is good. I was a bit discouraged at the dipping number of reviews though. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you'll like it and keep the reviews coming guys. Cheers ;) One Tree Hill coming back tonight. Woohooo!!**

* * *

Chapter 19

"Are you alright? You haven't spoken in about twenty three minutes," Haley said looking at her watch. They had just arrived home from their dinner with Jason and Nathan was being strangely quiet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said distractedly. "Must be the food. I've never eaten so much." He managed to give her a grin. The truth was he couldn't get the conversation he had with Jason out of his head. For some reason, he couldn't make up his opinion of Jason. He watched Haley as she started to take off her shoes, completely oblivious of Nathan's eyes on her. "You are so beautiful Haley," he said softly.

Haley walked over to him, concern written on her face sensing that he was troubled. "Nathan? What's wrong?"

He looked down at his feet. "I don't like Jason," he said offhandedly.

Haley laughed as she looked at him. "What? Where did that come from?"

"I don't like the way he looks at you, I don't like that he keeps touching you. I just don't like him."

She came over to him and put her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Nathan Scott jealous? That's something I don't see everyday," she grinned.

He didn't share her humour. "Yeah, I am jealous. I want to be the only who looks at you like that, and I want to be the only want to touch you Hales. I want to be the one to make you laugh." He untangled her hands from his neck and turned his back on her. "Sometimes I feel like you're slipping away from me and I know I have no one to blame but myself."

She touched her arm gently. "So what are you going to do about it?" Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door making Haley groan. "Great, that must be Taylor. You know I'm beginning to look forward to going back to Tree Hill in a couple of days."

"You and I both," he said as he thought of Jason again. "Go on, open the door before she breaks it," Nathan said frustratedly. Haley reluctantly complied and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Taylor with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hello little sister. Hi handsome. So what did you think of Jason? Nice guy, isn't he?"

"Taylor," Haley said, giving her a warning look. "What do you want? We're pretty tired so can you bug us tomorrow instead?"

"What? You're not sleeping with me tonight? Oh man. I'm gonna miss hearing you talk in your sleep."

Haley looked at her, her eyes wide open. "Liar! I did not talk in my sleep!"

"Are you kidding me? I heard you mumble Nathan's name last night. Or was it Jason?" Taylor said and started to make kissing noises.

"Ok, get out now before I kill you," Haley said while shoving her sister out of the room. "Nathan, where are you going?" she asked as she saw Nathan follow Taylor out of the room.

He ran his fingers through his hair distractedly and said without looking at her, "I'm just gonna go to the kitchen to get a drink."

"Nathan wait. There's nothing going on between Jason and me."

He looked at her with a blank expression on his face before turning and headed out.

* * *

"Hi Nathan. What are you still doing up so late?" Lydia's voice snapped Nathan out of reverie as he stared out of the kitchen window.

"I was just getting myself a drink. Sorry, did I make too much noise?" he said looking at her apologetically.

Lydia smiled adoringly at him. She had always liked him, and especially liked him when he was with Haley. She knew her daughter well enough to know that it was not easy for someone to capture her heart, and Nathan had done just that. "No, you weren't. I always like to get a drink myself before I go to bed. Of course halfway through my sleep, my bladder would feel like it was going to burst any second," she said making him laugh. "I've never really had a chance to talk to you Nathan. How have you been doing?"

"I'm ok but I've had better days," he said looking down at his glass.

"You know you never really answered my question at the hospital the other day. Are you back in Tree Hill for good?"

Nathan looked at her in surprise. "I was planning to but I guess it depends on Haley."

"And why is that?"

"Mrs. James, I'm really sorry. I've hurt your daughter too much over this past year and I'm not sure if she still feels the same about me. And then this Jason comes along-"

"Jason." She snickered. "Is that what you're worried about? Trust me Nathan, if that's what bothering you, you really have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not so sure about that Mrs. James. I saw them together and they looked happy."

"Did she look as happy as she is whenever she's with you? I don't think so. I know Haley and nobody makes her happier than you. Now are you gonna give me a date so I can start planning for the wedding or are you gonna continue with all this moping and whining?" she said grinning. "You know I'm gonna be really disappointed if I don't see her walk down that aisle with you, so you'd better make it happen. Now go on, get to bed. It's late."

Nathan came up to her and gave her a hug. "Thank you Mrs. James."

"You're welcome, and don't worry. You'll be fine," she said pulling away and giving her a wink before returning to her room. Nathan sighed and slowly climbed up the stairs to Haley's room, only to find that she was already asleep.

He climbed into bed slowly so as not to disturb Haley. "Too late, I'm up," she heard Haley whisper as she grinned, looking up at him. "That was a long drink. How much did you drink? A gallon?" she asked playfully.

"Almost." Nathan laughed softly and pulled her into his arms. "I have a confession to make."

"What is it?" She snuggled up to him, loving the way his arms were wrapped protectively around her.

"There were a million times tonight I felt like punching Jason's face. I'm sorry. I know he's your friend but he makes my blood boil."

She bit her lips and looked up to him before saying nervously, "really? Well, I kinda have a confession to make too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Me, Taylor and Jason, well the three of us sort of planned it all to make you jealous?" She covered her face with her hands, her voice muffled as she said, "do you hate me?"

Nathan sat up and pried her fingers away from her face. "You did it on purpose? Haley! Why did you have to torture me like that?"

"Well I was angry at you the other day and Jason came along and one thing led to another. I'm so sorry."

"So all this was a set up?"

"Yeah it was. Jason has a girlfriend." She put her hand on his chest, unsure of what his reaction would be.

He looked at her and said grimly, "you know what? I don't think you're sorry. And for that I'm gonna have to punish you. Oh you're so gonna get it from me Haley James."

"What-" Before she could say anything, he had her pinned down to the bed as he looked down laughingly at her.

"You don't think you're gonna get away that easily, did you? Do you have any idea what these past few days have been like for me?"

"Well, I think I may have a rough idea," she grinned.

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "Haley James, you're gonna be the death of me one day."

She stiffened at his words. "Nathan, stop. Don't say that. Don't talk about you dying," she said, choking back a sob as she thought of how close she was at losing him.

"Hey, sssshhhh...it's ok. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm never leaving you again Haley. I've had a taste of life without you, and I never want to go through that again, do you hear me? You said you wanted me to fight for you. I will Haley. Even if it takes the rest of my life, I'll do it. I love you." He lowered his head and touched his lips gently to hers before nipping her lower lip.

"Nathan," she breathed. "If you're gonna kiss me, you'd better do it properly before I push you off the bed." Nathan laughed and kissed her fully on the mouth, his thumb gently caressing her face as he flicked his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance. She happily complied, making them both groan at the contact as he playfully sucked on her tongue before he lifted his mouth from hers.

"Wait, your parents-"

Haley smiled. "Well, we're gonna have to be quiet, won't we?" she said to him, although truth be told their lovemaking was always anything but quiet. "Anyway, let's give them something to really talk about tomorrow," she said mischievously.

He grinned at her. "Yes, ma'am," he said before capturing her lips again. "God I love you Hales," he said softly as he started kissing her neck, making her sigh with his every touch. "I think you have too much clothes on. Why don't we take this off?" he said mischievously, as he pulled her chemise over her head, revealing her perfect breasts. "Wow you really know how make me all hot and bothered."

"I aim to please," she said mimicking him.

"Sorry, that's my line," he said as he took one of her already hardened nipples into his mouth, sucking it gently making her gasp. He lifted his mouth reluctantly and pulled his shirt over his head, unable to control himself any longer, needing to be inside her. She sensed his urgency and hurriedly unbuttoned his jeans, already feeling his hardness. He wriggled himself out of his jeans and carelessly kicked them away, leaving him only in his boxers.

"Hey, that's unfair, I have nothing on me and you still have your boxers on," Haley said teasingly.

Nathan nibbled her ears softly and said hotly, "that can easily be arranged." He started to remove his boxers, and pulled her closer, making him groan, loving the feel of their nakedness against each other. He traced his finger along her body until he reached her thighs, parting them slightly. Haley had to bite her lips to keep herself from moaning out loud as he gently slid one finger inside of her wetness. "Nathan," she moaned softly gasping his name as he started to stroke her.

"Tell me you want me Haley," he urged as he continued his stroking. "Tell me I'm the only one you want."

A low moan tore from her throat. "You're the only Nathan. Oh God Nathan...please..." she begged as she arched her back, needing him to be inside her. He placed himself at her entrance as he removed his finger, and with one gentle thrust he was inside. They started to move in perfect unison as Haley wrapped her legs instinctively around his waist, both wanting to fulfill the other.

"Oh my God Haley," he groaned as he placed his hand under her hips as he continued his steady thrusts, loving the feeling of being inside her. "Oh God I can't wait. I'm almost there-" his words caught in his throat as he watched her biting her lips in ecstasy. Their pace grew frantic as they fell closer and closer to the edge.

"Nathan...aaaahhhhhh..." Nathan caught her lips in searing kiss as they both came at the same time, both groaning into each other's mouth. He slowed his pace as he lifted his lips from her before he rolled off her. They laid there silently as their breathing slowly returned to normal.

She was the first to speak. "Wow, I should make you jealous more often."

He gave her a lazy smile and said as he stroked her cheek, "don't you dare Haley. That was hell you gave me."

"Thank you," he continued.

"For what?" she asked, looking at him puzzled.

"For giving me another chance although I know I don't deserve it."

She giggled. "You're right. You don't deserve it. You're lucky I love you."

Nathan looked at her and grinned. "Come here you," he said pulling her to him and started tickling her, making her giggle more.

"Nathan, you're gonna wake everybody up," she said in between gasps.

"I don't care," he laughed as he continued his tickling, and she tried unsuccessfully to muffle their laughters.

* * *

"Good morning kids," Jimmy said looking up from his newspaper. "Had a good sleep last night? Coz we didn't," he said looking at Haley and Nathan knowingly.

Haley blushed furiously and ignored his father's comments as she kissed him on his cheek. "Good morning Dad."

"Nathan, looks like I'm gonna have to charge you for my 'consultation' last night. Looks like it turned out well for you." Lydia winked at Nathan, making him look away uncomfortably. "Come on take your seats. I made pancake this morning. What time is your flight back tomorrow?"

"Five," Haley said, groaning as she remembered that they were going back to Tree Hill that afternoon. "Mom, can I stay?" she whined. As much as her family annoyed her sometimes, she did miss them and loved the time she spent at home.

"Sorry Haley Bop. But you're coming back for Christmas, aren't you? Why don't you come over for Christmas too Nathan. I mean after you've spent it with your family of course."

Nathan gave her a smile. "That sounds great Mrs. James, but why don't you guys come over to Tree Hill instead? I'm sure everybody will be happy to see you guys."

Lydia exchanged looks with Jimmy. He put down his newspaper and looked at his wife thoughtfully. "You know, that doesn't sound too bad. Ok, Tree Hill for Christmas it is," he finally said. They were joined by Taylor a few minutes later and were enjoying breakfast when the doorbell rang. Haley sprang up to answer the door and came back to the kitchen a few minutes later, bringing Jason along with her.

"Morning guys. Hi Nathan," he greeted him, giving him a smile. Nathan immediately stiffen at the sound of his voice.

Haley sensing his discomfort quickly turned to Jason and said, "game over Jason. He knows." She gave him a sheepish grin.

"Oh thank God. I don't know how much longer of that I can take. Hi baby," he said as he walked over to Taylor giving her a kiss. Nathan's eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he watched in disbelief.

"Taylor? And Jason? You're his girlfriend?" He pointed at Taylor before slapping his forehead. "Oh my God! I could kill you guys!" he exclaimed, making everybody laugh.

"Well, you kinda asked for it," Taylor said, wrapping her arm around Jason's waist and kissing his cheek.

Nathan continued to shake his head in disbelief as he ate his breakfast. Jason came up to him and said, "those two girls are pretty cunning. You gotta constantly watch your back when you're with them."

"You're telling me. You're lucky I didn't punch you yesterday."

Jason laughed. "I was kinda waiting for that too happen. So you and Haley are good. And we're good?" he said offering his hand.

Nathan looked at him and laughed as he took his hand. "Oh yeah, we're good. We're all good."

Haley looked at them both and smiled. "Come on Nathan, eat up. We have to pack our bags for tomorrow."

Jason looked at her in surprise. "What? You're leaving tomorrow? Ok, how about I take you around town before you guys leave? Come on, it'll be fun. Even more fun knowing that I won't have to worry about Nathan kicking my ass now now."

"Yeah, that sounds great," Nathan said.

Taylor laughed. "Wow, I never thought Nathan would agree to go to any place where Jason will be after last night."

Haley watched her family and Jason and Nathan interact, happiness building up in her. A part of her was excited about going back to Tree Hill, another part of her was afraid that the happiness that she felt at home would end as soon as they went back. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she joined in their conversation, their laughters ringing through the house.

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**Surprised? LOL!! Leave me some love guys! ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi guys! Wow Chapter 20. Phew! I never intended the story to be this long but somehow the ideas keep flowing thanks to you guys. There have been a suggestion that I make a prequel/sequel to this story. I haven't really thought about it before, but I'll give it some thought now ;) What did you guys think about Epi 13? I was a wee bit disappointed with it except for the Naley scenes although I was hoping for more Naley hotness at the end. By the way, I've got another idea swirling in my head for a new Naley story, so I hope will check it out once I've posted it although it won't be so soon. ****Anyway enough of my rambling. Here's the new chapter. Sorry it's a bit short and I only have one more chapter to go. I hope you'll like it. Keep reviewing guys!**

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Chapter 20

_3 months later..._

It was a Saturday morning and Haley stretched lazily in her bed, turning her head and caught Nathan staring at her, making her jump. "Nathan! Will you stop doing that? It's getting a bit creepy."

Nathan laughed. "You know I like to watch you sleep Hales," he said pulling her into a tight embrace. "Do you wanna get up now?" he asked, nibbling playfully at her earlobe.

"Do we have to? It's nice here, in bed, with you," she said distractedly, as his lips continued to travel to her neck.

"Yeah I think we have to. We promised the guys that we'll be at the cafe for breakfast. Come on," he said pulling her up with him. "And if you don't, you'll be missing shower time with a certain hot guy. And he's counting. Five...four...three..."

"Ok I'm up!" Haley yelled and jumped out of the bed. She loved mornings like this, when they didn't have to go to school and could just enjoy each other's company. It's been a month and a half since Nathan moved in with her and things had never felt better. She felt a deeper connection with him with each passing day and she was sure Nathan felt the same.

An hour later they finally made it to the cafe. "It took you guys long enough," Peyton said winking at them. "We thought you guys would never get out of bed."

"You're one to talk Mrs. Jagielski. I wonder how you got that bun in the oven?" Haley retorted, indicating the slight bump on Peyton's belly.

"Oh my God, can we have a bitch-fight free Saturday morning for once?" Brooke grumbled as she attacked her stack of pancakes. Peyton and Haley looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

Nathan looked at Lucas, noticing he had a guilty look on his face and grinned. "What did you to her now, Luke?"

"Trust me, Nate. You don't want to go there."

"He said my ass are getting big!" Brooke wailed, making the girls snicker.

"Hey! It was supposed to be a compliment. I like it. It's very sexy," Lucas said, trying to pacify her.

"Dude, wasn't your favourite subject in school literature? Do you know know what a compliment actually means?" Jake interjected, shaking his head in disbelief.

Nathan watched his friends and grinned before touching Haley on the arm. "Hey guys, is it alright if me and Haley skip breakfast today? We kinda have something to do."

Haley looked at him in surprise. "What thing?" she asked but Nathan seemed to ignore her question.

"Errr...I guess but Tutorgirl, we're still going to the mall this afternoon right?" Brooke asked looking worried making Haley laugh. She looked at Nathan inquiringly and got a nod.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys there ok?" Haley said reassuringly. She knew how important shopping was to Brooke and unfortunately, today was one of those days when she and Peyton were dragged into one of her many shopping expeditions. "See you guys," she said before Nathan quickly pulled her out of the door.

"Hey, what's the hurry? And what do you have to do? Where are we going?" Haley asked. She looked at Nathan suspiciously.

Nathan pulled her into his arms and gave her a deep kiss. "I was thinking of going to the dock. It's such a nice morning and I thought it would be nice if I get to spend it just with you."

"Ok fine. Since you made me miss Karen's pie, you're buying me pancakes at the dock," she said though she wasn't entirely convinced by Nathan's explanation.

"You can have whatever you want," Nathan promised. He had been right though. It was such a lovely morning. She looked around and saw a lot of people, many of them parents with their children and smiled as she tried to keep her emotions in check. True to his word, he had gotten Haley a stack of pancakes for breakfast and after she had practically inhaled the whole plate, they took a walk along the dock.

"Do you know when was the moment I fell in love with you?" Nathan asked without looking at her, which made her stop in her tracks. Without waiting for her to answer he continued, "remember the time I took some drugs to help me with my game and I collapsed. At that moment all I could think of was you and when I got out of the hospital, I came by your house to see you. Nothing else mattered at that moment except for your forgiveness and you...you forgave me. I never expected you too, not after what I did, and you just forgave me. That was the night I fell in love with you."

"Nathan we all make mistakes sometimes-"

"That's just it Hales. That was one of my stupidest mistakes and you forgave me without giving it a second thought. Your kindness staggers me Haley. You have a goodness in your soul that I've never seen in anybody else."

"Ok, Nathan stop embarrassing me. You're making me blush. Where are you going with this?"

Nathan took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissed them. "Haley, I love you so much. I can't imagine my life without you. You bring out the best in me. Everyday when I wake up in the morning, I promise myself that I'll be a better man than I was the day before, and it's all because of you."

"Nathan-" her eyes went wide open as she watched him got down on one knee. "Nathan, what are you doing?" she said, her voice trembling slightly.

He took out a familiar looking black velvet box from his pocket and opened it revealing her old engagement ring. "This has always belonged to you Hales. Marry me. Marry me and I promise I'll love you forever."

Haley took the ring and looked at it, tears streaming down her face. "Nathan, I don't know what to say."

"Saying you'll marry me would be good," he said, giving her a nervous laugh.

"Can I...can I have some time to think about it?" She looked at him, his handsome full of hope and her heart almost broke.

"Yeah ok." His face fell as looked at her in surprise and got up. "Look, you're gonna be late for your shopping spree with the girls. Come on, I'll send you there," he said as he tried to regain his composure.

"Nathan-"

"It's fine. You need time to think about it, so I'll wait," he said as he leaned against the railing and took a deep breath. She completely took him by surprise. He had not expected her reaction to be like this. "I just don't understand it Hales. I thought things are going so well between us."

"They are, and if you think for a second that I don't love you then you're wrong. Look at me Nathan," she said, putting her hand on her cheek and tilting his face so he could face her. "I love you, with all my heart I do. I just need time. Please?"

Nathan closed his eyes and said, "ok." He put a hand on her waist and pulled her closer, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "I'll wait."

"Thank you." Haley breathed a sigh of relief at Nathan's words. She couldn't deny that she was conflicted but she knew that she had to give him an answer. She just wante to make sure that she would make the right decision this time around.

* * *

"Earth to Haley!" Brooke's voice jolted her out of the deep thought she was having. "What's the matter with you today? I asked you three times if this dress looked good on me and you've been spacing out since Nathan dropped you off. What's wrong?"

"Yeah Hales, what's going on? Everything alright with you and Nathan?" Peyton asked. She was surprised at the Haley's behaviour today. She had been looking so happy since she and Nathan had come back from Los Angeles and she was glad that the trip had been good for them.

"What? Oh sorry. I was just thinking about something. And the dress looks good on you Brooke," she said without even looking at the dress Brooke was holding up.

"Ok. That really hurt. You weren't even looking. Spill it Hales."

Haley looked down and shuffled her feet. "Nathan asked me to marry him today." She took in a deep breath while waiting for her friends' reactions.

"Oh my God! That is so great! It is great right?" Peyton asked. "You don't look too excited. How do you feel?"

"I am not sure how I feel. I mean, last year I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle with him, but now..."

Brooke put down the dresses she was holding and put her hands on Haley's shoulders. "Did you say yes?"

"I said I'll think about it," she said biting her lips.

Brooke gave a whistle. "Wow this calls for cookie dough. How about we head out and hang out at my place and we'll talk about it?"

"You know what, can we not talk about this right now? Let's do some shopping. I promise I won't go zombie on you guys. Please? I need to switch this whole thing off," she said looking at them. She knew she had to address the issue but to be honest, the whole proposal made her head want to spin.

Peyton looked at her doubtfully. She knew Haley was not one to not deal with a problem right away. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's have some fun today," she said as she tried to put on a smiley face and pretended to be interested in the clothes.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time she got home and she didn't really expect Nathan to still be up. "Where the hell were you? I've been worried sick trying to find you. I called Peyton and Brooke and they said you left them to go home hours ago." Nathan's voice made her cringe as she saw him standing in the kitchen with his arms akimbo.

"I'm sorry I went for a walk by the river," Haley said quietly.

"Are you alright?" he asked gathering her into his arms and felt her nod. "Don't scare me like that again, ok?" he said kissing her forehead. "So what were you doing by the river?"

Haley disentangled herself from him and leaned against the kitchen counter. "I was thinking."

"Yeah, I thought you would be," Nathan said with a small smile. "Look Hales, I know the proposal was very sudden. I just feel that I've wasted enough time with all my mistakes and screw ups with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you Haley. There's never a doubt in my mind that it's you I want to grow old with."

"I know Nathan. I feel the same way but to be honest it scares me. The last time we did this everything was going so well and then you know, you left me in the dust. Could you really blame me for being scared? I really don't want to bring up the past coz what we have now is so great and I don't want to spoil it."

Nathan looked at her beautiful face, the face that had felt too many tears because of him. "If it's time you want, then I'll wait, but don't you dare give me back the ring. I want you to keep it."

"Thank you," she said softly. "So emmm...have you eaten?"

Nathan gave a small laugh. "No, I was too worried about you to eat. How about you make me some of your famous mac and cheese?"

"And I thought you think of it as food for the five year olds?" she said glancing at him sexily.

"Hey you're never too old to act like a five year old. So how about it?"

"Fine, I'll make you mac and cheese but you have to do the dishes. Deal?"

Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "You got it. But I want dessert later."

"Nathan!" she laughed.

He looked at her and shrugged. "What? It's not my fault that you're so sexy."

* * *

Haley glanced at the alarm clock next to her bed. 3.30 a.m and she was wide awake. She couldn't stop thinking about Nathan's proposal. She thought about how far the both of them had come since that fateful day a year and a half ago. As much as they had hurt each other in the past, she didn't regret a single minute of it because it had brought them to where they were now. She thought of how her life would be with Nathan if they got married. She thought of the children they would never have, and although she knew that there would always be an ache in her heart, she knew that it was a pain only Nathan could heal.

She turned to look at him, his handsome face so serene in deep slumber, one arm slung over her waist protectively. It had been that way since they got back together. Not a night went by without them sleeping wrapped in each other's arms.

"Nathan, are you up?" she asked softly, not really expecting him to answer.

"Yeah, I haven't really been asleep, not with all those buzzing noise," Nathan grinned lazily.

"What buzzing noise?"

"You know, those thoughts running around in your head."

"Oh God Nathan, I'm so sorry!"

He pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair, taking in her scent. "Nah, it's ok. Do you feel like sharing?"

She bit her lips and looked at him nervously. "Nathan, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sure. What is it?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi guys. I'm so sorry for the long silence. I've been busy with school work and other stuff. Here's the last chapter for this story. I'm currently working on "Ashes & Wine" and am halfway through so please check it out once it's posted. I'm also dabbling with the idea of a prequel to this story. I have really enjoyed writing "Always & Forever". Mostly I have enjoyed reading your reviews. Thank you so much for your support, which hopefully will give me more confidence in writing my second piece of story. Oh and how cute are Naley on Monday's episode ;) Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter. Let me know what you think. Cheers!**

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Chapter 21

Nathan looked out the window, staring into space. He couldn't believe that he was back here again. His brain was going on an overdrive with all the jumbled up thoughts running through his head, coupled with the mixed emotions that he was feeling. Haley. Her name would be forever etched in his heart. If only he could see her now, he would reach out to her and hold her and never let go. He placed a hand on the window and leaned his forehead, taking in a deep breath as he contemplated the day ahead, which was how Lucas found him.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked as he watched his brother intently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually I'm not. I have to see her Luke," he said as he started to leave.

Lucas put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "You know you can't Nate. She doesn't want that."

"Look, this is stupid. I have to make sure she's ok. She is ok, right?" he asked worriedly.

"Nate, I know you're worried but she's fine," Lucas said reassuringly, although Nathan didn't look all that convinced. "I can go check on her if you want."

Nathan heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks man. And could you give her this while you're at it?" he said as he gave Lucas a piece of paper.

Lucas eyed at the note skeptically. "Is this another-"

"No it's not you dumbass. Just give it to her will you?"

"Ok," Lucas said grinning as he left, leaving Nathan alone with his thoughts once again.

* * *

Haley couldn't sit still with all the anticipation as Peyton watched her in amusement. Her stomach felt like a herd of elephants were dancing in it. "Haley, what are you thinking of?" Peyton asked, rubbing her growing belly.

"Nothing. Everything. Do you think Nathan's ok?" she asked, biting her lips.

"Haley, stop biting your lips. He's fine. Oh here's Luke. What's up?" Peyton looked up as Lucas entered the room. She groaned as she felt the baby kick for the hundredth time that day. "Will you stop kicking mommy already?"

"Baby's getting really excited huh? Here Hales. Nathan asked me to give this to you." Lucas sat down next to Peyton and made baby talks to her tummy, making Peyton laugh.

"Oh my God, you're just like Jake. He wouldn't sleep without talking to the baby first."

Haley ignored her friends' antics as she looked at the piece of paper in her hand. Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened it revealing Nathan's handwriting. Her breath caught as she read it. _I'm right here Hales. Always and forever. I love you._ Her eyes watered as she gently folded the note, remembering the night four months ago.

_Flashback_

_"Nathan, can I ask you something?" she asked him as they laid in bed, his arms wrapped securely around her._

_"Yeah, sure. What is it?"_

_"Were you serious? I mean when you asked me to marry you?" she asked after a pregnant pause._

_Nathan immediately sat up and looked at her. "What? Hales, of course I was. Why, what's going on?"_

_"Nothing, I'm sorry. That was a stupid question."_

_He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Haley, what's this about?"_

_She changed position so she could face him. She put her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently. "I love you Nathan. So much sometimes it scares me. I'm scared of the way you make me feel when you're around me. I'm scared of the way I feel when you're not." She put a finger on his lips as he was about to say something. "When you asked me to marry you, it scared me even more and you know why. But I've thought a lot about it and please don't freak out when I ask you this."_

_Nathan felt his heart pounding in his chest as he looked at her face. "What is it? Hales, you're scaring me," he said as panic rose within him. The thought of losing her again brought a familiar aching pain, a pain that he couldn't bear. _

_She took in a deep breath before saying, "is getting married a week after Christmas too soon?"_

_He looked at her in disbelief as he felt joy swelling in his heart. "Oh my God. Is that a yes?" _

_Haley nodded shyly. "It's a yes."_

_"God I love you Haley James. And no, Christmas is not too soon. Hell, I'd marry you tomorrow if I could."_

_"Ok slow down mister. I just thought that since my family is coming back for Christmas anyway, it would be nice to have a Christmas wedding."_

_"It's perfect Hales. Come here you. Don't you ever, ever scare me like that again do you hear me?" he said pinning her down on the bed as he looked deeply into her twinkling eyes, eyes that shone with love. "I love you Haley. I can say it everyday and I will. I never want to lose you again," he said as he brought his lips to hers._

_"You won't. Always and forever," she said against his lips as tears of joy started rolling down her cheeks._

_End of flashback_

"Hey buddy, are you ok? Oh no no no, don't cry. I just did your make up." Peyton rushed up to her and wiped the tears off her cheek.

Haley gave her a watery smile. "I'm fine. Actually I'm more than fine."

"Good, coz the ceremony's starting soon. Come on, we'd better get you ready. And where the hell is Brooke?"

"I'm here! I'm here! I was checking out the guests. Haley, the priest said that he's gonna start in ten minutes. Are you ready? Oh my God Haley, you look amazing. Ok I'd better stop before I cry," Brooke said as she started to tear up. "Hey boyfriend, what are you doing here?" Brooke asked Lucas, noticing him for the first time.

"Nothing, just doing some spying. I'd better get back to Nathan." He looked at Haley and smiled. "You look beautiful Hales. You deserve this. You both deserve this."

She gave him a friendly hug. "Thanks Luke. Tell him I'll see him at the altar," she whispered in his ear before letting go. Just then the music started to play, indicating that it was time for them to leave. "Ok here goes nothing."

Nathan took in a deep breath as he waited in anticipation for Haley to appear. Lucas noticing his nervousness touched his shoulder gently. "Just relax Nate. She's coming." He looked at Lucas gratefully and nodded.

Just then Haley appeared, walking down the aisle with a bouquet of purple flowers in her hands. Nathan felt his breath caught in his throat as he watched her coming towards him. A smile crept on his face as continued watching her, his eyes never leaving her as their eyes met for the first time in a week. Jimmy kissed his daughter's cheeks softly and winked at Nathan as he gave Haley away. She passed the bouquet to Brooke as she took Nathan's hand and let him lead her up the altar.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two hearts..." Nathan barely heard the priest as he looked at Haley and smiled. "Haley and Nathan, you have decided to recite your own vows. Haley," he prodded.

Haley took in a deep breath and looked up to Nathan. "Nathan, What can I say to you that I haven't already said. There isn't anything of me that isn't yours already, my body, my heart, even my soul. Everything that is me belonged to you long before this, and it shall be yours long after this. You have always given me everything that I have ever wanted. My love for you grows stronger every day and that love will never fade. This I promise you."

"Nathan," the priest prodded, indicating that it was his turn.

"Haley, for a long time there was darkness in my life, and then there was light, and that light was you," he started as he looked deeply into her eyes. "You have filled my life with meaning. You have given me strength, strength that I didn't know I had. My love for you will never waver, it will never wane. This I promise you, today and always. And forever," he continued, wiping the lone tear that slid down her cheek.

"Haley," the priest continued. "Do you take Nathan to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward till death do you part?"

"I do," she whispered softly and gently slid his ring onto his finger.

"Nathan, do you take Haley to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward till death do you part?"

"I do," he promised, his eyes never leaving as he slid her ring onto her finger.

"Inasmuch as Nathan and Haley have declared their love and devotion to each other before family and friends, I now greet them with you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Nathan took his time before placing his hand on her waist and pulled her gently to him. "I love you Haley James Scott," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you too," she said, her voice thick with emotion as his lips claimed hers in passionate kiss before they broke apart and faced their family and friends. Haley laughed when she saw her mom and Taylor and even Brooke and Peyton burst into tears. They made their way hand in hand down the aisle as they faced the cheering crowd.

* * *

Haley put her hand on her mouth as she entered the room, cradled in Nathan's arms. "Nathan, how did you manage to do this?" she gasped upon seeing the petals of roses covering the floor and their bed. They had agreed to spend the holiday in Tree Hill with Haley's family before heading off for their honeymoon in London.

He gently put her down. "I had some help from Taylor. Let's just say it's punishment for Taylor for tricking me that day," he chuckled, remembering the Jason incident. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

"No, Hales. Thank you. For everything," he said, turning her around to face him. "Now come here so I can kiss you," he said and captured her lips in a searing kiss, leaving her breathless. "God I've missed you. I was worried about you."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I haven't seen in you in a week because of the stupid tradition you insisted on keeping. And the no sex thing? I was worried that you might jump on me at the altar," he grinned mischievously.

"Why you cheeky monkey!" she exclaimed.

"Hey this monkey happens to be your husband," he said.

"My husband. Mmmmm I like the sound of that." Haley returned his grin. "Well, let's see if it all paid off," she said and put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer for another kiss. She started to take off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, all the while teasing him with her tongue. He emitted a low groan as he lifted his lips from hers.

"Haley," he breathed as he gently slid off her wedding gown. "You're killing me, you know that?" His hands continued to roam her body before lifting her up and carried her to their bed. He started to wriggle out of his pants before climbing on to the bed and pinned her down. "What are you thinking about Mrs. Scott?" he asked as he took her finger and played with her wedding ring. God he loved seeing that ring on his finger.

"I'm thinking about how happy I am, how happy you've made me. And I'm thinking about our children and telling them how amazing their dad is," she said looking up at him.

"Haley, you know we can't...I can't." He felt unable to continue and closed his eyes, hating himself for not being able to give her what she wanted.

She smiled at him and stroked his cheek comfortingly. "Nathan, I meant what I said when I said those vows. You have always given me everything I ever wanted and you always will, and I truly believe that. If anything, what we went through together has taught me to believe. I believe in you Nathan-"

"God Hales," he groaned and captured her lips and gently stroked her tongue, making her moan. He gently slid off her bra and grazed his fingers on her breasts before capturing one nipple in his mouth. All the while his hand gently peeled off her panties and started to stroke her wetness.

"Nathan," his name came out of her mouth in ragged breaths. "I want you."

"I know baby. I want you too," he said softly as he wriggled out of his boxers and pulled her closer, loving the feel of their two bodies touching. She instinctively wrapped her legs around her waist as she waited in anticipation. She didn't have to wait long as Nathan positioned himself at her entrance and slowly entered her, making them both gasp in ecstasy. They moved so perfectly together as their passion mounted. He placed one hand on her back as she arched her back. He looked at her in wonder, seeing her beneath him, biting her lips with her eyes closed. "Haley," he whispered softly. "Open your eyes." She did as she was told and their eyes met. "I'm giving you our baby," he said before thrusting into her urgently.

"Oh God!" they both screamed at the same as they reached their climax together and he emptied his seed inside of her. He collapsed on top of her, shifting his weight so as not to crush her.

"I love you so much Nathan," she whispered when her breathing had finally returned to normal.

"I love you too Haley. Always and forever." He kissed her forehead and rolled on his back, taking her along with him, not willing to be parted from her. "Promise me it will always be like this." He didn't need to hear her answer. Looking into her eyes he knew that no matter what adversities that might come their way, they could get through any of them together.

"I'd like a son, with your eyes," she said sleepily against his chest.

"Nah, a daughter just like you," he replied, images of their life together being the last thing in his mind as he finally drifted off, with Haley snuggling close to him as the feeling of utter bliss and calmness engulfed them, assured that nothing could ever shake that.

The End

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